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Category Archives: D. Acts of Worship
Suhba of Shaikh & correspondence
Shaikh Khawaja Alauddin Attar (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘It is a highly recommended practice (similar to the status of sunnat e muakkidah) to keep company (suhba) of the Shaikh. If not possible daily then it should be twice or thrice per month. If even this is not possible then there should be regular correspondence with the Shaikh so that one is not included in those who are totally absent (from the Shaikh’s suhba).’
Sawanih Mawlana Abdullah Shah rehmatullah aleh, page x
Robbers of sincerity
Appreciating the work being done on a website sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him and allow us to benefit from him spiritually, Amin!) said,
“The most essential thing is sincerity (ikhlas).
(That is doing a thing solely to gain the pleasure of Allah.)
Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) instructed Sayyidina Maaz bin Jabal (Allah be pleased with him),
أَخْلِصْ دِينَكَ يَكْفِكَ الْعَمَلُ الْقَليلُ
Be sincere in your Deen. This will be enough for you, (even) if your (good) actions are few.
There are many robbers of sincerity. They include showing off, love of fame and money, etc.. A major buccaneer is the assumption of acceptance from Allah (maqbooliyet indAllah) about one’s self.
Beware of them.’
Ramadan 1434, after dohar office majlis
Get organized
Towards the end of Ramadan a seeker called and lamented about not being able to utilize the precious moments effectively.
Sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him and allow us to benefit from him immensely, Amin!) was obviously annoyed. He replied,
‘For a long duration you have lamented about the same problem.
That is, not being able to do what is instructed and required for a seeker. Until and unless you organize yourself and manage time properly you will continue to do so.
Make a decision. Either you plan and get organized or leave this path (of islah).
Do not lament!’
Ramadan 1434, after dhur, office.
In “Dasturul amal baraay talibeen e islah” it has been made very clear that if an individual is willing to spare the time and follow the instructions (including the daily recommeded recitation, etc.) only then he should commit and proceed for islah. Committing and then being lazy results in great loss of blessings. Also, it wastes time, especially for the Shaikh.
Rules for the Shaikh
Hakim al Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Even the Shaikh should not sit idle. He should keep progressing in excellence.
Allah says,
‘and say, “My Lord, improve me in knowledge.” ‘[20:114]
He should not make a claim of excellence. However, there is no problem in mentioning the blessings (of Allah bestowed on him).
Allah says,
‘So, do not claim purity (from faults) for your selves.’ [53:32]
And
‘And about the bounty of your Lord, do talk.’ [93:11]
He should be eager on spreading the tariqa
Allah says,
‘who is very anxious for your welfare, [9:128]
He should be very kind and loving with the disciples.
Allah says,
‘and for the believers he is very kind, very merciful.’ [9:128]
He should forgive their shortcomings and mistakes.
Allah says,
‘Had you been rough and hard-hearted, they would have dispersed from around you. So, pardon them, and seek Forgiveness for them.’ [3:159]
He should not ignore them for the the sake of (wealthy or famous) worldly individuals.
Allah says,
Do not expel those who call out to their Lord morning and evening seeking His pleasure. You are not responsible for anything in their account, and they are not responsible for anything in your account, that you should expel them, and thus become one of the unjust. [6:52]
He should not expect any worldly benefit from the disciples.
Allah says,
‘Keep yourself content with those who call their Lord morning and evening, seeking His pleasure, and let not your eyes overlook them, seeking the splendor of the worldly life. And do not obey the one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance,’ [18:28]
And,
‘ I did not demand any reward from you. My reward is with none except Allah,’ [10:72]
He should remain patient on the afflictions caused by fellow men.
Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
‘May Allah have mercy on my brother Musa, who was afflicted more than this (by his Umma) but he remained patient.’
He should maintain serenity and dignity. Otherwise disciple will consider him to be paltry and will not benefit from him (spiritually).
As is said regarding our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) that whoever saw him from far away was intimated and whoever saw him from close by loved him.
He should not give preference to a disciple over others.
Allah says, ‘He (the Prophet) frowned and turned his face,’ [80:1]
However, if a disciple has more yearning of Allah(‘s pleasure) than it is fine to give preference to him.
He should not do anything that will make people have a bad opinion about him. As this will close the path (tareeq) of seeking instructions and benefiting (irshad).
Allah says,
‘the one who calls (people) towards Allah,’ [33:46]
Taleemud Deen, page 129-31
Eid: An unimaginable joy!
The Prophet of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“On the day of eid (when people gather to offer eid prayers)
Allah says to the Angels,
‘Have these people fulfilled the obligation (of fasting)
and are now gathered for prayers?
I swear by My pride, magnificence, majesty, mercy and elevated status that I will fulfill their prayers.
Tell them to return,
I have forgiven them all
and furthermore
I have replaced their sins with virtuous deeds.
Hence they return completely forgiven.
(Mishkat/Bahaiqi)
On our eid visit to Sayyidi wa sanadi Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) we always found him to be extremely happy and cheerful, repeatedly telling usArifbillah Dr Abdul Hayy Arifi (Allah have mercy on him)’s saying regarding Eidul fitr
“We are excessively blessed individuals today.
All our sins have been forgiven.
They have been bartered with good deeds.
We are completely clean and tidy.”
An unimaginable joy!
Repentance in Ramadan is essential
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaikh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him and allow us to benefit from him abundantly, Amin!) said,
‘It is absolutely essential (fardh e ‘ain) that we make genuine repentance for all our sins during this month.
This is to avoid being the subject of the supplication made by Sayyidna Jibrael (Allah’s peace be on him) that destruction is for the person who finds Ramadan but does not have himself forgiven and our master Prophet Muhammad (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) saying ‘Amin!’ on it.’
Ramadan 1434 after dhuhar majlis, Darul Uloom
Reward of worship
Hakim al Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘The friends of Allah (awliya) receive more reward for worship as compared to others. This is because of their increased servitude (uboodiyet) and sincerity (ikhlas).’
Taleemud Deen, page 121
Shaikh Imdadullah mohajir Makki (Allah have mercy on him) said,
Two rakah of an Arif are superior to 100,000 rakah of another Muslim.
Ramadan al Kareem
New post are not planned for the blessed month of Ramadan.
There are, alhumdulillah, already more than 1500 posts on this site to benefit from.
Please, use the search option and read the posts regarding Ramadan.
muhtaj e dua
‘abd
Dua for Night of 15th Shaban
Following supplications has been reported from the Prophetic sayings,
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِعَفْوِكَ مِنْ عِقَابِكَ , وَأَعُوذُ بِرِضَاكَ مِنْ سَخَطِكَ , وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْكَ , لا أُحْصِي ثَنَاءً عَلَيْكَ أَنْتَ كَمَا أَثْنَيْتَ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ
The following supplication has been recited by the pious elders on this occasion. Surah Yaseen (chapter 36) is recited three times. Each time it is followed by this supplication.
Sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) wrote the following regarding the worship in the night of 15th of Sha’ban,
“This night is meant for worshiping Allah in solitude.
It is the time to enjoy the direct contact with the Lord of the Universe, and to devote one’s attention to Him and Him alone.
These are the precious hours of the night in which nobody should intervene between one and his Lord, and one should turn to Allah with total concentration, not disturbed or interrupted by any one else.”
Saudi Arabia asks pilgrims to postpone Hajj this year
In an unprecedented move aimed at preventing congestion and stampedes and ensuring safety of the guests of God, Saudi authorities have urged domestic and foreign pilgrims to postpone their Haj plans for this year if possible due to ongoing expansion work at Makkah’s Grand Mosque.
The call follows the government’s decision to reduce the number of foreign pilgrims by 20 percent and domestic pilgrims 50 percent this year.
إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ
‘Arif billah Shaikh Hakeem Mohammad Akhtar sahib passed away in Karachi today. He had been in critical condition for the previous several days. He had suffered a stroke in 2000 and had been partially paralyzed. However, he continued the spiritual beneficence till his last days. In the recent years many individuals benefited from him all over the world. Especially, from his advice on controlling one’s gaze. A essential timely reminder in this era of wide spread obscenity and exposure of what Shariah has commanded to be veiled.
Allah have mercy on him, raise his status in here-after manifolds and give sabr to all of us. Amin!
He was a khalifah of Shaikh Mawlana Shah Abrarul Haq, (khalifah of Hakim al Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi) and Shaikh Shah Mohammad Ahmad Partabgarhi from the silsila of Shah Fazal ur Rehman Ganjmuradabadi (Allah have mercy on them all).
Shaikh Shah Abdul Ghani Phulpuri (Allah have mercy on him) was his first Shaikh and step-father.
His spiritual beneficence continues after his passing away. His books and recorded & published discourses continue to change the life of hundreds of individuals. Moreover, he leaves behind approximately three hundred khulafa who will, insha Allah continue in his footsteps.
Please, make dua and esal e thawab for him.
I want to change for better but…………
All of the spiritual seekers aspire to do good and abstain from sinful actions.
However, most of us harbor a misconception regarding the means to achieve this goal.
We wish for a overpowering and overwhelming state that facilitates this for us by itself. Automatically. A kind of fairy tale magic spell.
Moreover, we assume that making supplications or reciting a particular litany (wadhifa) or associating with a pious individual or a group or reading classical spiritual text or visiting a holy site (like the revered Makkah and radiant Medinah) or worshiping in the blessed times (like the night of power) will create this ‘state’ for us.
This will never happen!
Hakim al Ummah Mujaddid Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) has repeatedly made this very clear in his works.
Self determination, self restraint and earnest hard work is needed to do good and abstain from sinful actions.
There is no other way around.
It is not easy.
Initially it is tough. This is the spiritual struggle (mujahida ). It brings the reward and its blessings in the here-after.
This is the norm in all the things we aspire to achieve. No school or work project is successfully completed just by supplicating, reading or associating with the experts. One has to toil and labor sincerely and put up his best effort in an organized manner to do it.
Therefore, praying the salah on time with the congregation, especially Fajr or having khushoo in salah or controlling anger or quit listening to music or watching the obscene on internet or ending free intermingling with opposite sex , etc. will never ever be achieved until we make a firm resolve to do so and use the self determination and restraint powers, bestowed to us by Allah, earnestly.
May Allah make this clear to us. Amin!
The purpose of Tasawwuf
Shaikh Shah Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah have mercy on him) quotes many predecessor masters of the path (of Tasawwuf). In conclusion he writes,
‘It is evident from these quotes that the goals of these masters were reformation of the lower-self (islah e nafs), performance of the commandments of Shariah with sincerity and abstention from the prohibited.’
Tarbiyet us Salik, The Introduction, volume 1, page
Making implicit knowledge explicit practice
Tasawwuf is all about this!