Category Archives: C. Blame worthy Morals

The bad moral characteristics that have to be removed from within ourselves

Divine plans

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Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) narrates the following story in one of his discourses,

A junior policeman was doing his daily rounds. He saw a dervish humbly walking by. Just to make a point and assert his rank on the people surrounding him the policeman slapped the dervish telling him to be watchful and not to mess around.

Rubbing his cheek, the dervish supplicated “O Allah! Make him a Sheriff.”

The policeman felt reassured that this person is insane. I slapped him and he is praying for my promotion.

It so happened that the Governor of the state came for visit and being pleased with this policeman promoted him directly to the post of a sheriff.

This reminded him of the dervish. He thought to himself, ‘I should go and ask forgiveness from him for my mistake and also present some gift to him.’ So he went with the sweets and said, “’Sir, from your supplication I actually got that exact position which you prayed for and due to this good news I have brought these sweets for you. I am ashamed of  my behavior. I made a big mistake. I was not aware of your exalted position. And you still prayed in my favor. I apologize and offer my services to you. Please, ask for something specific and I will get it for you.’

Initially the dervish refused. There was nothing that he wanted. However, the constable continued to pester him. The dervish told him, “Okay! Bring me some scorpions. But make sure that they are black in color and each one is the size of human hand.”

The sheriff searched in despair for such scorpions. He even involved his whole police department and they failed. All the scorpions they found were of smaller size.

Eventually he returned to the dervish saying, “Sir, these kinds of scorpions are nowhere to be found.”

The dervish replied, “Come with me, I will show you.” He led him to the graveyard. Digging at a particular grave, he told him to look inside. There were thousands of black and human hand sized scorpions gripping onto a skeleton. The sheriff was horrified.

The dervish asked him, ‘Would you care to know whose grave is it? This is the grave of a Sheriff.
You thought I prayed in favor of you but that was not the case.”

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Not all progress and promotion is guaranteed to be a blessing. Sometimes it may be a Divine plan to punish us for our wrong doings.

May Allah save us. Amin!

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

Accountability

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Our Shaykh Ziauddin Abun Najeeb Suhrawardi (Allah have mercy on him) narrates that,

‘The virtue (khair) in the people of Tasawwuf will last only till they act with disinclination amongst themselves. They will be destroyed once they develop mutual concordance and live in harmony with each other.

Shaykh Ruaim (Allah have mercy on him) has pointed out that this means that they should keep an eye on  and hold each other accountable (that is, do their muhasaba for things that are inappropriate).’

Awarif al-Ma’arif, page 267 (Urdu translation published by  Progressive books, Lahore)

Deadliest Poisons in sulook

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Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Mawlana Shah Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said:

“Listen and remember, I tell this for your own benefit.

In this path (tareeq) two things are the worst rogue and the deadliest poison.

Firstly, making explanations for one’s mistakes and secondly, criticizing one’s instructor (the Sheikh).”

Maasir e Hakeemul Ummat 406

Khilafat?

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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.

Suhba of books, magazines, newspaper & internet

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Shaykh Raziuddin Ahmad Fakhri (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

“Similar to the good and bad effects of the company of an individual and the items of his/her personal use, books, magazines and newspapers also have these effects.

One has to be very cautious in deciding which book or newspaper to read. “

Ahl e sulook per achi buri sohbet kay aseraat, page 22

This is also relevant for internet. 

Wasting time by visiting unhealthy sites, engaging in useless discussions, chatting, viewing photos or videos and listening to unreliable audio speeches and nasheeds, etc.  can be very detrimental spiritually for a  seeker.

علوم تصوف و تزکیہ کی تفصیل

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از حضرت حکیم الامت مولانا اشرف علی تھانوی رحمۃ اللہ علیہ ،

 

1۔ مقامات

مقصود اصلی اس طریق میں اصلاح اعمال باطنی ہیں اور ان اعمال کو اصطلاح میں اخلاق و مقامات کہتے ہیں۔

 

2۔ احوال

وہ امور جو بمنزلہ ثمرات غیر اختیاریہ اصلاح مذکور کے ہیں۔

 

3۔ اشغال

وہ امور جو ان ثمرات کے معین و بمزلہ اسباب حصول  ہیں۔

 

4۔ تعلیمات

وہ امور جو کسی اشتباہ کا دفع یا کسی مرض کا علاج یا کسی عمل کا طرز و طریق بتلائیں۔

 

5۔ علامات

وہ  امور اختیاری یا غیر اختیاری جو ان ثمرات کے آثار ظاہری ہیں۔

 

6۔فضائل

وہ امور از قبیل نصوص جو ان اخلاق و صفات محمودہ پر بشارت دینے والے ہیں۔

 

7۔ عادات و آراب

وہ امور جو از قسم افعال اختیاریہ بمزلہ امور طبعیہ اس قوم صوفیہ کے ہیں۔

 

8۔ رسوم

وہ افعال از قسم افعال مباحہ مبنی بر بعض مصالح غیر ضروریہ۔

 

9۔ مسائل

وہ امور جو محض تحقیقات علمیہ ہیں۔

 

10۔ اقوال

وہ امور جو از قسم عبارات ہیں۔

 

11۔ توجیہات

وہ امور جو ظاہرنظر میں حدودجواز سے متجاوز معلوم ہوتے ہیں، اگر واقع میں وہ داخل حدود ہیں تو ان کی نسبت جو تاویل اور تطبیق کی جاۓ وہ۔

 

12۔ اصلاح

اور اگر واقع میں بھی خارج حدود ہیں تو اس میں جو تنبیہ کی جاۓ۔

 

13۔ متفرقات

بہت کم ایسے امور جو ان کلیات میں سے کسی کی فرد نہ ہوں۔

 

التکشف 258

Concern for others

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An individual wrote:

Now the only source of misery at home is the condition of younger brother.  It is the same as it was previously.  I pray for him daily, asking Allah that he gives up the habit of lying and embezzlement. These two problems are usually the cause of most of the suffering.  He is destroying both, his religion and worldly life. I request you to pray (make dua) for him and advice any practical solution to achieve this.

Hakim al-UmmatMawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi(Allah have mercy on him)  replied:

‘I have no hesitation in making dua for him.

However, as far as the request for practical solution is concerned, for inept like us it is best to be concerned with our self rather than for others.

That is,
“فکر خود کن، فکر بیگانہ مکن “
(Be worried about yourself; do not be anxious regarding others’ condition.)

Moreover, there comes a time when even for the best and perfect individuals (kamileen) it is advisable:

عليكم انفسكم لا يضركم من ضل اذا اهتديتم

And that happens when even after substantial efforts other do not pay heed.”

Tarbiyatus Salik, volume 3 page 190

The art of giving a gift

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Hakeem Mohammad Mustafa Bijnori, a senior khalifa of Hakeem al-Umma (Allah have mercy on them) said;

Giving a gift being a Sunna is an act of worship  (ibadah). And the soul of worship is sincerity(ikhlas: doing solely for Allah’s pleasure). Therefore, one who is giving the gift should try his best to preserve this sincerity.

The best way to do so is to contemplate presenting this gift to Allah, considering the person to whom it is being handed to as a carrier or an agent.  By doing so automatically all the requisite conditions and etiquettes required for giving a gift will be fulfilled.  Moreover, one will never even think of boasting doing a favor. His condition will be as per the following verse

منت منہ کہ خدمت سلطان ہمی کنی
منت شناس از و کہ بخدمت بداشتت

(Do not take pride in serving the King! Be content that He has tolerated your services!)

Ma’moolat e Ashrafi,  page 56

Useful knowledge

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.’

Errors to Avoid in Dua!

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Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote in the preface of the book Munajat-e-maqbool,

“In case of dua (supplication) few errors are taking place. That are;

1. To supplicate (dua) only when faced by an adversity.

2. And on these occasions instead of using the supplications told to us by Allah and holy Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him), we go for new and innovative litanies (wazaaif).

3. To supplicate without true yearning, devotion and concentration.

4. To lack the conviction and aspiration that the supplication will be accepted for sure.

5. To make haste and expect immediate response.

If there is delay in its acceptance to be disheartened and abandon making dua.”

Munajat-e-maqbool, page 3-4

Kissimmee, FL