Category Archives: C. Blame worthy Morals

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

The tricks of Shaytaan

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1. The first thing Shaytaan does is, he takes out the importance of obedience out of us and puts the importance of the  worldly issues (dunya) within us.

2. The second thing he does is to makes us delay and procrastinate the good actions for now. Like praying in congregation at the appropriate time, abandon following of Sunnah till old age,  not acquiring company of pious, and not making immediate repentance (taubah) etc.

3. The third thing he does is that he makes us rush through all good deeds. That may lead to abandoning the essential (wajibat), Prophetic practice (sunna) and desired (mustahibat) components required.

4. The fourth level of his trickery is that he puts ostentation (riyaa’) in the actions being done.

5. The fifth level trickery is that he puts vanity (‘ujb) in us. That is self admiration for the actions already accomplished.

6. The sixth level of Shaytaan’s trickery is that he injects us with the poison of doing things for fame (hubb e jah). That is for the approval and admiration of other people.

7. The seventh level of his trickery is to maximize our self admiration to a level that we start looking down on others.  This is arrogance (kibr) – the mother of all spiritual maladies (umm al-amradh).

May Allah save us from these deceptions of Shaytaan.  Amin!

Adapted from An-Noor

Envy

Shaykh Mawlana Mohammed Maseehullah Khan (may Allah ahve mercy on him) said, 

Generally the basis of envying (hasad) is arrogance (kibr) and pretentiousness (ghuroor).

It is without any valid reason an individual seeks to withhold the bounties of Allah. He desires (at times consciously and at times subconsciously) that like himself, Allah too should restrict His bounties.

Envy is a malady of the heart.

It is harmful to both one’s spiritual life and worldly life.

The harm to man’s spiritual life is the elimination of his good deeds and becoming a victim of Allah’s wrath. Our beloved Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him) said:
“Envying devours good deeds like fire consumes wood.”

The harm to his worldly life (dunyaa) is the frustration and worry which perpetually afflicts the envious person. He is consumed by frustration caused by hasad for another whose disgrace and fall he always anticipates. In this way the haasid destroys his Here-after. This is in addition to elimination of his worldly comfort and peace of mind.

Its remedy is by excessively praising the envied person.

One should praise, honour and meet him with extreme respect and humility, no matter how difficult this may seem.

Shariat wa Tasawwuf

Tasawwuf: Akabir vs us!

Sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said, 

I t remains unclear what innovations, absurdities and presumptions people have put into the understanding and practice of Tasawwuf. The reality is that going to a friend of Allah (Ahlullah/Shaykh) is to get one’s heart, ego and internal morals rectified.

From Hadhrat (Mawlana Qasim) Nanotwi رحمه الله تعالى till Hadhrat (Mawlana Husain Ahmed) Madni رحمه الله تعالى and Hadhrat (Shabbir Ahmed) Usmani رحمه الله تعالى there was not a single individual (from amongst the scholars of Deoband) who after graduation did not approach a Shaykh (Ahlullah) for his moral reformation (islah).

In our atmosphere these things have become strange. Nowadays if anyone is practicing this (the akabirs’ way), he is said to have become a sufi (in some degrading sense).  The result of this lack of self-reformation (islah) is that the hearts are completely filled with love of worldly/materialistic (dunya) issues, especially love for fame (hubb e jah) and love for wealth (hubb e maal).This is reason that the preacher’s (da’ee) call is ineffective.

In conclusion, a very big reason for the failure of all our struggles and efforts is the abandoning of this concern (fikr) of self-reformation (islah).

[“Islahi Mawaiz: ‘Ilm Par Amal Karen” ]

From: at-Tazkirah (edited to make it easier to understand)

Reveal the diseases to the Shaykh

The seeker must show his hidden diseases to the Shaykh, and disclose to him their reality so that he can cure them.

If the seeker has diseases and does not show them, openly or secretly, to his Shaykh, then the latter will not cure him of these diseases, even if he is aware of them. The reason for this is that a physician only treats about which the patient complains.

Having said that, none of the defects of the seeker is lost on the Shaykh, even though he only treats that which the seeker reveals. 

The Adab of the True Seeker, page 29-30

This is one of the reasons why regular communication with the Shaykh is essential. The seeker informs him of the various real life incidents and scenarios where a moral disease is suspected to have played a role. Shaykh then makes the diagnosis and prescribes a treatment. This is the reality of the written self-reformation correspondence (islahi makatabet) between the murid and the Shaykh is Ashrafiya path.

Do not be angry!

In a special gathering where several senior deputies (khulafa) of  Masih al-quloob Hadhrat Mawlana Masihullah Khan (may Allah have mercy on him) were present an individual asked Hadhrat to name some of his special deputies.

In a powerful spiritual state Hadhrat replied, “I do not have any khulafa! Only those (of whom I have given ijaza) who do not become angry are my deputies.”

As reported by qutub e Makkah e mukarramah, Shaykh Dr. Hasan Imam (may Allah preserve him)

Be humble ……… but not ungrateful!

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

‘And now there is this malady which many people are falling into – perceiving themselves as very pious and saintly but I say who would think such a thing when they have no way of knowing what state they will find themselves in when they die? On what virtuousness do they take pride in? Allah protect us from such thinking.

What is there to be arrogant about when in all likelihood we cannot pick out one ra’kaat from our entire life that can be said to match up to the standards expected by Allah and then these paltry offerings themselves are also by dint of His favour and His blessing otherwise we could not even execute this’

(Malfooz 211, pg 169, Malfoozhat Hakeem-ul-Ummat, [Al-ifhadhat al yawmia…], Published Idara Taaleefat-e-Ashrafia)

 Source: The excellent blog, Beneath the Shade

The four deadly morals

Masih al-quloob Hadhrat Shaykh Masihullah Khan (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

“It takes a very long duration to eradicate the following four deadly morals and even thereafter, like returning waves of the sea, they try to return frequently. They are,

1. Arrogance (kibr)

2. Self-praise (ujub)

3. Envy (hasad)

4. Ostentation (riya)”

Isah afroze bayanat, page 543

Guard eyes, ears and tongue

‘Arif billah Hadhrat Dr. Abdul Hayy ‘arifi (may Allah have mercy on him) instructed the seekers,

“Do not be slack in your effort of self-reformation (islah) till you die, as some of the ailments of self (nafs) take many years to be recognized.

Strictly guard your eyes, ears and tongue (from unlawful). These three organs are the source of all worships and transgressions, including the inner praise worthy and blame worthy moral traits. It is of utmost importance to take appropriate care of them by using them in lawful and abstaining from prohibited. 

However, (God forbid) when you slip (do not despair), repent immediately.”

Ma’moolat e yoomiya, page 13

Unintentional bad thoughts: Reason & Treatment

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

“Occasionally these unintentional bad thoughts (khatarat) are due to an extra sensitive psyche and personality. Some times they are due to medical reasons. At other times they are due to acts of blame worthy moral traits. On other ocasions it may be secondary to some evil (Satanic) intervention or sins. Also it may be a test of one’s yearning and desire for Allah’s pleasure. And some times more than one of these may combine.

In a case where a specific reason can not be ascertained it is best to combine all the possible treatments (that are: repentance,  firm reslove of being upright in future, treatment for medical, psychological and magic/evil-eye illnesses, excessive supplication and turning to Allah).

However, in all cases in addition to the specific treatment the common remedy for all cases is not to pay any attention to these thoughts. Do not contemplate on the nature or the reason for these bad thoughts.”

Ashraf us Sawnih, volume 1, page 434

Anger

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

“As a rule, a person displays anger only at those who are equal or lower to him/herself. For a person with higher status than him/herself the anger can not be displayed.”

Tofah e izwaj