.
Qazi Thanullah Panipati (Allah have mercy on him) writes in ‘Irshad ut-Talibeen‘,
‘Prior to annihilation of nafs (blame-worthy moral traits) excessive prayers (nawafil) and recitation of Holy Quran do not lead to proximity of Allah (i.e. spiritual progress) .’
Majmua talifat Muslih al- Ummat ra, volume 3, page 27
Durrah al-arus, Dhahban
—
A person complained that now he did not feel motivated to do good deeds. Previously he had this motivation but it has ended.
Shaykh Mawalana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
‘There are three reasons for one’s spiritual recession,
1. Corrupt companionship (suhba)
2. Suspicious food (unlawfully obtained or non-halal/dhabiha)
3. Involvement in sinful activities.
Analyze your situation and whatever the reason is from these, try your best to fix it. ‘
Sulook wa Ahsan: Irshadate Faqih al-Ummat ra, page 333
—
[P.S. For us this companionship may be that of people, books, magazines, television, DVDs or Internet sites]
‘Join XYZ-Jamat or PQRS-Tariqa!’
A common advice we all often get. Directly or indirectly by our well-wishers. Most of us are offended and become defensive. We retaliate with our own suggestions. A few become confused. A smaller number becomes disillusioned by these rivalries and schisms. May Allah save us all from these disasters. Amin!
The sincerity of these well-wishers can not be questioned at all.
However, it should be a wake up alarm to us. Following questions must pop-up in our mind. Why did this person suggest this to me in particular? Am I following correctly and progressing in my religious effort? Or there is something that made this person feel that I need to improve?
Thinking on these lines this lowly writer came up with a random quick checklist for myself. InshaAllah, it will be beneficial for others.
The Checklist:
I need to have explicit answers to the following statements from the time I joined this specific group, jamat, tariqa or started on my own to be more religious ,
1. I thoroughly studied the fiqh of everyday worship and apply it meticulously.
2. Made record of my missed salah, fasts, zikah, hajj and financial dues. I am trying to compensate for them.
3. I have improved my tajweed.
4. My actions on Sunna has increased. That is, appearance, manners, actions and supplications for different occasions like waking up, eating, sleeping, wearing clothes, etc.
5. My salah is more organized, on time, in congregation (if masjid is close by) with better concentration.
6. I deal with humility when interacting with my family members (especially parents and spouse) and others.
7. I can better control my anger.
8. My school/college/work performance has increased or at least not deteriorated.
9. My involvement in useless (TV, Internet, news, magazines, novels, etc.) has decreased substantially.
10. I am worried about causing discomfort and harm to others and try my best to avoid it.
11. The sins I used to commit previously have decreased substantially in frequency and intensity.
12. My day is better organized with time allocations for recitation of Holy Quran, dhikr and religious reading.
13. I do not look down upon fellow Muslims.
If answers to most (>11) of the above questions is affirmative then we need to be thankful to Allah and continue on our path to perform even better.
However, if this is not the case then there are two possibilities.
Firstly, either we are not following the teachings of that group, jamat or tariqa correctly.
Or if we are doing all the things as per instruction then that group, jamat or tariqa is invalid. At least this is true for us, maybe secondary to our circumstances and environment. It is only in this case that we need to pay heed to the advice of that well-wisher and look into the XYZ & PQRS option.
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said,
‘In a Prophetic tradition (hadith) it is narrated that; the person whose two days are the same is in big loss.
This means that his today was spent in the same manner as yesterday and no progress occurred.
That is, progress in being more religious, in spiritual evolution, increase in worship and improvement in obedience, following of Sunna and abundance in Allah’s remembrance.’
——————-
Shah Waliullah Muhadith Dehlawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘A type of nifaaq (hypocrisy) is that an individual affirms verbally and in his heart to the commands of Allah and His prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) but by committing sinful activities via his tongue, heart (mind) and genitals he is totally surrounded by transgressions.
Hence, an individual who is thoroughly annihilated in sinful activities. That is, committing sins has become an instinct and a part of his personality. This individual is a munafiq (hypocrite).
This type of hypocrisy can exist with eman (belief).
The noble Companions (Allah be pleased with them) were afraid of this type of hypocrisy.’
Taharet e qalb, page 69
‘O Ahmad!
In your self are praise-worthy and blame-worthy moral triats.
Safeguard the praise-worthy morals by obedience and worship,
and abandon the blame-worthy morals with (spiritual) training and struggle (mujahida).’
Mulhemat, page 3
Picture: A display in Seyoun Palace museum, Hadramaut, Yemen
—————
‘O Ahmad!
Arrogance is a thing to be discarded, and humility is desired.
Arrogance reflects envy, and humility attracts friendship.
Arrogance is hideous, and humility is beautiful.
Arrogance leads to hatred, and humility brings forth love.
Arrogance is the behavior of niggards, and humility is the attribute of the noble.
Arrogance dissolves friendships, and humility strengthens them.
Arrogance is (one of the) most evil moral traits in men and women.
O Ahmad!
It is narrated by Ibn e Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) that
I am bewildered by the state of an individual
who has passed through the urinary outlet twice* and displays arrogance. ‘
Mulhemat of Shaykh Jamaluddin Ahmad Hansvi (Allah have mercy on him), page 41-43
(*First as a sperm and then as a newborn.)
——————–
A reader wrote,
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.
I need some clarifications:-
I always have doubts about the akabir of Deoband. That is, I want to know regarding the negative words that Barelwis spread about Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi.(rahmatullah alaih) and other akabir ulema. I respect the akabir of Deoband very much for their knowledge but after hearing the negative things about Deobandis, my heart is always in suspicion about the honesty of Deobandis.
Please,Please…. help!
And sorry for asking such questions.
Jazakallah hu khairaa.
Following reply was sent. (InshaAllah it will be beneficial to all of us.)
Bismillah
Respected brother
as salam o alaykum wrwb
JazakAllah.
There are two answers for your question.
First is the ilzami (accusatory) and other islahi (reformative).
The ilzami answer is that why don’t you have doubts and suspicions about the Baraelwi comments being corrupt, false, dishonest, thimblerig & politically motivated. If you can give me some reason then we might have a discussion. The upshot of this answer is how do you as an individual lay person can judge between the two groups?
Our akabir have taught us this, “A murid complained that when people talk negatively about you it hurts me and my heart aches.
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Shah Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) replied;
‘There are a multitude of people who talk badly about Allah, His messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and the scholars (mujtahideen). Have you done any thing to stop that?
If not, then why does it hurt you when poor Ashraf Ali is censured. And you feel concerned about stopping this?
There is nothing in this attitude except kibir (arrogance).
It annoys you when your seniors are censured. You feel humiliated at this. This is a hidden deception of nafs (ego/lower self).
Suppose, even if it is not kibir (arrogance). Then I ask, why did you feel concerned about anyone saying any thing good or bad (regarding my seniors).
What harm did it cause to you?
If you had focused on the goal (of tareeq, i.e. seeking perpetual pleasure of Allah ) you could not have time to waste on these petty issues.
Hakeemul Ummat ra kay hayret-angez waqiyat, page 81
The islahi answer is for the truth seeking sincere individual. May Allah make us both from them.Amin!
(Your openness to come forward and ask this is itself a sign of seeking the truth. MashaAllah.)
First it must be very clear that we are bound to follow Sunnah meticulously. Following Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) or Molvi Ahmad Raza Khan sahib is not an obligation. We won’t be questioned in here-after regarding this. If the following of Sunnah(both, external and inner) is facilitated through their teachings well and good. If not then you have to look somewhere else.
(Alhumdulliah, I have personally benefited a lot from the teachings of Hakim al-Umma in bringing deen into my life to a degree. May Allah allow me to benefit more. Amin! Similarly I have read about and seen personally lot of people who changed their life for better by following his teachings.)
Having doubts is natural phenomenon. However, being affected to the degree to actively suspect and consider another Muslim (irrespective of him being a pious, learned scholar/sufi) to be intentionally dishonest is blame-worthy condition (bad-gumani, keyna, etc.) . There should be explicit proof for this.
It is usually a result of keeping company with people who have this already in them and are lax on issue of ghibet/bad-gumani/hifazet-e-lisan/etc., and/or lack of knowledge and being involved in useless.
Being sins their darkness clouds the perception of truth. This can only be lifted by repentance and resulting Divine enlightenment.
The teaching of our pious master is,
کفر است در طریقت ما کینہ داشتن
آئین ما است سینہ چوں آئینہ داشتن
Please, make excessive supplication, keep your focus on the following of Sunna and consult your Shaykh for the cure of these potentially fatal spiritual ailments.
For the time being the best things to do will be,
1. Avoid all useless discussions.
2. Try your best to follow Sunnah meticulously in each and every aspect of your life.
3. Make dua excessively. Ask Allah SWT for guidance. Especially set 10 minutes daily after ‘esha salat and make dua for your own islah, isteqamat and correct understanding of deen.
4.If you lack information then please, read the book ‘Aqaid e Ulemae Deoband aur Hassam ul Haramain’. It is in Urdu and available online.
5. Even after all these measure if the doubt and suspicion persist then the best thing will be to ignore both the groups and follow the Sunnah and scholars who affiliate with none of these groups. It is best to remind ourselves that it is a fitnah by definition when truth can not be distinguished and things become suspicious. The best strategy as per Prophet (Allah bless and grant him peace) is to keep ourselves completely aloof from it.
I pray and hope that my rambling makes sense to you. If there are any question, please, do not hesitate to ask. The benefit is mutual. JazakAllah.
Take care.
Please, do try to make dua for me.
muhtaj
In spiritual diseases (muhlekat e nafs) the rule of thumb is;
If one considers him/herself to be free from a specific disease, e.g. arrogance (kibr), hasad (envy) etc. it is for sure that he/she is afflicted with it.
That might be the reason that many of the noble companions ridhwanullah ta’ala ajmaeen considered themselves to be hypocrite (munafiq) and most of the pious (awliya) consider themselves to be worse than unbelievers (kafir-e-farang).
One of the very senior educationalists from Sindh University visited sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him). He lamented about the despairing prevalent conditions at the educational institutes, in society and the country all over. Corruption, hypocrisy (nifaq), irreligious trends and immodesty prevails. Truth, sincerity and honesty are mocked upon. He requested for a remedy.
Sayyidi wa sanadi replied,
‘Yes, indeed the conditions are such as you describe. However, Islam provides us a solution for all the conditions. There are are two things for us to do under these circumstances.
First is to focus on self rectification (islah). That is, to correct all the deficiencies an individual has in his actions and morals to the best of his abilities. This will at least make a single person better in the environment. And if all people act according to this strategy eventually the whole institute or country will change for the better.
The other thing is to make supplication (dua) for improvement in our condition. Asking Allah for help sincerely.
In order to avoid despair in these circumstances we need to reflect on the incident of Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) when he was invited to a vice by the wife of the ruler. He was aware that all the doors were locked, however, he decided to do whatever was within his means. That was, to run towards the door to escape. He did that. And Allah helped him by unlocking the doors miraculously.
We should do similarly. Trying to save ourselves and asking for help from Allah.
He then quoted the Persian couplets of Mawlana Rumi (Allah have mercy on him) about this incident.’
2nd January, 2011, prior to zuhar salah, office, Darul Uloom Karachi
The most important thing is to avoid all sins, especially those committed by eyes, ears and tongue.
This requires knowledge (fiqh) and self determination (himmat).
For fiqh the books Bashti Zewar/Heavenly Ornament or Essential Islamic Knowledge (A handbook of Hanafi fiqh by Qadi Thanaullah Panipati, Allah have mercy on him) are fine.
For determination motivation is required. This is gained by being in good, pious company or reading from the books of or about pious. The Path to Perfection by Shaykh Masihullah (Allah have mercy on him) is a good book to start. Also posts on this site are a selection from these kinds of books. Try to read a couple of them daily.
Min fayuzaat e sayyidi wa sanadi damet barkatahum
It is a hallmark of Ashrafiya teachings to keep the things at their appropriate level in the hierarchy of Shariah rulings. An overemphasis on an issue can make it bida’ (innovation). Whereas, an underestimation can lead to loss of significant benefit.
There seems to be this kind of controversy regarding certain specific methods of remembrance and concentration techniques in Tasawwuf.
Understanding by means of example may make the issue a bit clearer.
Following extract is taken from an athletic training website,
‘Most of us enjoy watching professional athletes, at the peak of their performance, participate in their sports. Practicing a sport effectively demands a high degree of skill and requires the ultimate in physical fitness. This can only come about with regular training.
A professional athlete will need to plan a daily workout schedule so that they peak at their top performance on the day of the competition. This requires a carefully thought-out regime of cardio workouts, strength training, and stretches; along with strategic rest periods interspersed so that the athlete arrives at the day of the event perfectly trained but not over trained or under trained.
Exercise logs are how they keep track of all the details of their workouts each day. They include information such as the type of workout, the duration and the intensity. This not only keeps them on track to meeting their overreaching goals, but it also helps to motivate them because they can see in writing every day that they are making progress, which is encouraging.’
Months and years of such dedicated effort is needed to achieve the goal.
A spiritual seeker’s goal is to attain the absolute pleasure of Allah.
This can only be achieved by doing what is required and abandoning what is restricted by Shariah. This is his competitive event. It happens multiple times during the day each day of his life. This sounds simple. However, due to lack of knowledge, proper upbringing and regular guidance, corrupt social and financial influences and complicated life styles a overwhelming heedlessness has developed in us that makes this task practically very difficult. Especial effort and extensive reprogramming of mind is required.
To face these challenge the pious Sufi masters developed spiritual workouts. These are the Sufi forms of remembrance (dhikr), concentration techniques (muraqaba and ashgals) and repetition of various prayers, litanies or actions in certain specific ways. They are not the goal or objective in themselves. They are a means to create the determination, motivation and strength to implement Shariah rules at each and every moment of one’s life. It is futile for this reason to search for an explicit source from Quran and Hadith literature to approve of them. They are neither considered to be more rewarding nor superior to the acts mentioned in Quran and Sunna.
Moreover, it is unnecessary to discuss these issues in public. All of the spectators are focused on the performance of the athlete in the arena. None cares what type, how much or how extensive his routine workout was during his training? The serious athlete need to follow their coach’s recommendations. Sporadic following of such workouts by enthusiastic individuals is futile to bring about the desired results.
Meticulous following of Sunna and abstaining from all that is sinful (actions and thoughts) are the gold standard to measure an individual’s success in attaining the pleasure of Allah.
Million times repetition of the Supreme Name (Allah) with jahr o zarb or habs e dam, vigilant pas anfas, hours of muraqaba or months of khalwah, recitation of litanies, singing qasaid, etc are of no benefit in reality if the above mentioned gold standard is not achieved.
Wa ma taufiqi illa billah!
Shaykh Shah Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah have mercy on him) said,’
These days people have restricted the religion to some external things, like clothes, external appearance of religious individuals, prayers and fasting, etc. With these they consider themselves to be perfectly religious individuals. Whereas, from within they are just like the open or closeted sinners. They have their sinful morals (ikhlaq), dealings (ma’amlaat) and corrupt life style (ma’sharet). Even then they consider themselves to be religious. This is very strange, indeed.
It is difficult to draw the attention of individuals towards the rectification of the inner self these days.
Initially an individual tries not to reveal his inner self (batin) to his mentor (Shaykh).However, if by virtue of his intuition the Shaykh recognizes the inner self’s corruption then this individual does not acknowledge it upfront and his lower self (nafs) tries to avoid (the blame).
However, when with proofs and examples of speech and actions committed by this individual over time it is shown to him that his inner self is as the diagnosis done previously only then he acknowledges it and pays attention towards its rectification.’
Taharet e qalb, page 81
___________________
It is narrated from Sayyidina Umar (Allah be pleased with him) that Prophet of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said,
‘The worst thing I fear for my Ummah are the hypocrites who are knowledgeable speakers.’
Allama Munawi (Allah have mercy on him) said, this is the person who is expert in knowledge and can easily speak at lengths but by his heart (qalb) and actions he is an ignorant with corrupt beliefs. However, with his cunning speech he can misguide the public.
Taharat al-Quloob, page 42-3
This is an eye opener for all of us.
[Hypocrisy: a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.]
We need to check ourselves first, whether we are in this category.
Also, it gives as the clear direction that we should not be misled by speeches alone. The most important thing to see is the action of the speaker.
Is it in conformity with the teachings of Quran and Sunna, as done by our pious predecessors?
If not then it must be clear that ostentatious traditional garb (beards, turban, jubba, tasbih, etc.) or verbose heartrending stories or superb vernacular or expertise in contemporary marketing techniques (like stylish and sleek power point presentations, projectors, top of the line sound system, online state of the art setup, etc.) will not be spiritually beneficial at all.
Moreover, there is a greater chance that the speaker’s hypocrisy will be transferred to us.
Allahuma hafizna!
A considerable research, companionship and sincere advice from pious knowledgeable individuals is required to ascertain the sincerity of a speaker to benefit from him spiritually.
wa tawfiqi ila billah!
Shaykh Mawlana Karamat Ali Jaunpuri (Allah have mercy on him) [d.1290H/1873CE] said,
‘The calamities resulting from being in the company of an innovator (bid’ati) surpass those of being with the infidel (kuffar).
The worst factions among the innovators are those who have hatred for the blessed Companions of the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace from Allah be upon him).’
Irshad us Slaikeen,page 20
