Shah Kaleemullah Dehlawi (Allah have mercy on him) wrote,
‘O brother! If you want to ascertain the status of the fuqara (sufis) these days then look up at their following of the Divine Law (Shariah). This is because the Shariah is the gold standard (to measure this).
It is on this standard of Shariah that the reality of a faqir becomes evident.’
Maktubaat e Kalimi, quoted in Tarikh Mashaikh e Chisht, volume 1, page 58
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Picture: Mihrab of Masjid Mehdar, Tarim, Yemen
Shaykh Mawlana Wasiullah (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘If someone rebukes another individual without a reason and he remains silent. That is, not saying anything in return. This leads to extreme annihilation of the lower self (nafs).
Allah likes this quality very much.
This is also called patience (sabr), an unique quality of a believer.’
Shaykhan: Ainan e tajriyan, page 54
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‘O Ahmad!
When Allah loves a servant (abd) He facilitates His obedience for him.
And when He dislikes him He leaves him engaged in His disobedience.’
Mulhemat of Shaykh Jamaluddin Ahmad Hansvi (Allah have mercy on him), page 6
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‘O Ahmad!
Be from those who remain silent (most of the time) and
not from those who are excessively talkative.
There is peace and comfort in silence.
Whereas, in speech there is distress and dissection.’
Mulhemat, page 44-5
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Shaykh Jamaluddin Ahmad Hansvi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Repentance wipes out sins (completely).’
Mulhemat, page 3
Shaykh Abu Saeed (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘The reality of ubudiyet has two components.
First is acknowledgment of absolute neediness to Allah (iftiqar ilAllah). This is the real servitude (abdiyet) and the essential part.
The second is meticulous following of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace). This should be with exemplary elegance. (That is, its goal must be to follow and emulate the Sunna). The pleasure and comfort of one’s lower self (nafs) should not be the objective to do so.’
Shaykhan: Ainan e tajriyan, page 48
Picture: Secret underground mosque in Bor, Hadramaut, Yemen
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‘O Ahmad! act (virtuously) before you die, and
annihilate yourself (i.e. your sinful and blame worthy desires and actions) before your death.’
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Mulhemat of Shaykh Jamaluddin Ahmad Hansvi (Allah have mercy on him), page 46.
Picture is of the Manuscript Library in Tareem Hadramout, Yemen. 2011
Shaykh Jamal-ud-din Ahmad Hansvi (d.1261) a senior khalifa of Baba Farid-ud-din Ganj Shakar (Allah Have mercy on them) wrote in his compilation of spiritual revelations,
‘O Ahmad!
Apostate are of two kinds.
One of Shariat and the other of tariqat (Tasawwuf).
The apostate in Shariat is the Muslim who renounces Islam.
In tariqat the disciple who disobeys the instructions of his Shaykh is an apostate of tariqat.’
Mulhemat (Originally written in Arabic. Published with Persian and Urdu translation. Considered to be one of the essential text of Chishtiya sulook.), page 72
Allah save us!
Sunnah of the Day
The Path of Sunnah is the Path to Jannah
Sunnahs of Jumuah
1. To take a bath.
2. To wear nice and clean clothes.
3. To proceed early to the Masjid.
4. To go to the Masjid on foot.
5. To try to sit as close as possible to the Imaam.
6. If the Saffs (rows) are already filled, one should not jump over the shoulders of the musallies in order to get to the front.
7. One should not do any futile action eg. one should not fiddle with one’s clothes or fingers.
8. To listen to the Khutba attentively.
9. The person who recites Surah Kahaf on Friday will be bestowed with a Noor( Spiritual light) from under the Arsh (The Throne of Allah Ta’ala) which will extend from the earth till the sky and will benefit him in the darkness of the Day of Qiyaamah. All his (minor) sins which he had committed from the previous Jumu’ah up to this Jumu’ah will be forgiven.
10. Rasulullah (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) is reported to have said, “Recite Durood upon me in abundance on the day of Jumua’h since they are presented to me.”
11. On the day of Jumua’h it is Sunnat to apply oil to the hair and to use it or any other sweet smelling fragrance.
Shaykh Ibn Ata’illah al-Iskandari (Allah have mercy on him [d. 1309CE]) said,
‘It is only an ignoramus who regards constancy of acts of worship and remembrance (adhkar) as insignificant.
The Divinely epiphanies (waridat) will occur even in the Hereafter while acts of worships (award) will end with this world. It is, therefore, of greater importance to maintain something which has no substitute.
Your Lord demands wird from you while you expect waarid from Him.
What relationship is there between your desire and His demand?’ (al-Hikam, #112)
Explaining it Shaykh Abdullah Gangohi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘It is only an ignorant individual who regards steadfastness in acts of worship and remembrance to be insignificant.
There are two reasons for this misconception,
Firstly – The occurrence of Divinely epiphanies (waridat) will be even in the Here-after. In fact, they will be more there because here on Earth there is contaminations of human temperament and the material bodies that causes impediment in acknowledgment of these Divine epiphanies. But, in the Here-after these impediments will no longer exist. On the other hand, the acts of worship, remembrance and recitation which are rendered with the physical body are possible only here on Earth. Thus, after death there is no substitute for them. Whereas Divine epiphanies exist here and will exist in the Here-after as well, even in greater measure (both in quantity and quality). Hence, it is of greater importance to guard the acts of worship performed physically. That is, the daily routine called wird (or ma’amolaat).
Secondly– The wird is Allah’s demands while it is the seeker who desires waaridaat. There is no comparison between what we desire and the demand of Allah. It is best for us to attach greatest importance to Allah’s demand.
It is, therefore, essential for the seeker to be steadfast in the observance of the acts of worship and the wird which has been imposed on him. He should not regard these to be inferior to waarid. This is because the normal cause of waaridaat is also the wird. As a result of the seeker’s wird, he is blessed with the occurrence of waaridaat.’
Ikmal ush Shiyam, 21st chapter (edited)
(حضرت مولانا شعیب اللہ خان صاحب مدظلہ(بنگلور،
خلیفہ مجاز ہیں حضرت مفتی مظفر حسین رحمۃ اللہ علیہ کے
جو حضرت حکیم الامت رحمۃ اللہ علیہ کے مجاز حضرت اسعداللہ رحمۃ اللہ علیہ کے خلیفہ تھے۔
Replying to a salik’s letter Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘All praise is for Allah. You are aware that the objective of this path (of tasawwuf) is to gain Allah’s acceptance (raza). Now there are two things to be pursued one is the knowledge of the path (tareeq) and the other is to act accordingly.
Surely the path is only one. That is, meticulously carrying out the actions prescribed by Shariah both in physical (zahiri) and spiritual (batini) domain.
Two things are helpful in this effort. Firstly, remembrance of Allah (dhikr) as much is within one’s capability. (This you are already doing and is included in this exposition.) The other is abundant company (suhba) of pious as much as practically is possible. If you can not spare time for this then reading about the pious or their works is its substitute.
Two things are impediment in achieving the goal. The first of them is involvement in sins and other is engrossment in useless activities.
And the thing that is a prerequisite for all this to be beneficial is diligently keeping the Shaykh informed about one’s condition.
After this depending on one’s capabilities the objective is achieved sooner or later.
I said it all.’
Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 2, page 1261
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It is a common every day incident that we read or hear something that is virtuous and a blessing to be in-cooperated into one’s daily routine. However, in addition to forgetfulness we find it difficult to spare an additional time slot for this small endeavor in our daily schedule.
Sayyid wa sanadi Shaykh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) instructed,
‘The tip to include something new in your daily routine is to squeeze it between two already established chores.’
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