Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Keep up with the custom of exchanging gifts.
This practice cleanses the hearts (from misunderstandings and suspicions) and increases mutual love.
Do not consider any gift to be unworthy of being a present. Exchange whatever is available without any formalities.
Taleem ud deen, quoted via Zad us Salikeen, page 359
Karachi
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,
‘Once a person asked Hakim al-Umma (Allah have mercy on him), that the famous verse;
Yak zamana suhbat ba awliya
Behter az sed sala ta’et e bay-riya
(Momentary companionship of Friends of Allah is better than hundred years of sincere worship) seems to be an exaggeration. How can this be possible?
Hakim al-Umma replied,
‘It was no exaggeration at all. Moreover, the message was still not completely conveyed. If the poet had said;
Yak zamana suhbat ba awliya
behter az sed lekh sala ta’et e bay-riya
(Momentary company of Friends of Allah is better than million years of sincere worship), it would not have been an exaggeration.”
This is because in the company of pious/awliya you get more than the sincerity. You get the ta’uluq ma’Allah/love of Allah swt. This is the master key for all the further good actions.’
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,
The first ten days of Zulhijjah are among the most magnificent days in Islamic calendar.
The Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said,
“One fast during these days is equal to the fasting of one complete year, and the worship of one night during this period is equal to the worship in the “Lailatul-Qadr“.
Every Muslim should avail of this wonderful opportunity by performing during this period as much Iba’dah (acts of worship) to Allah as he or she can.
Islamic months
Shaykh Abu Taleb Makki (Allah have mercy on him) reported this in Quwwat al-Quloob,
A seeker approached a Gnostic of Allah (‘arif billah) and said,
‘ I am heedless of Allah’s remembrance, usually procrastinating good deeds and extremely lazy. Please, advice me on how can I overcome these things.
The Gnostic replied,
‘O brother!
If it is possible for you to love the friends of Allah (awliya) and keep their close company then immediately do so.
Perhaps they will keep you in their heart. And remember every day seventy times Allah’s special mercy is focused on these hearts. Maybe someday because of the love you have for them this mercy of Allah will be focused on you to. This will indeed take care of all your problems of this world and here-after.’
Ahl-e-sulook par achi buri Sohbet kay asaraat, page10
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said something smilar to the following in one of his discourses,
The minimum benefits of maintaining regular correspondence with a Shaykh ( in form of islahi-ta’luq) is that it makes an individual a cognizant sinner (baydar gunahgar).
That is, if God-forbid he commits a sin he will be aware of this mistake. He will have remorse. This will evetually lead him to turn to Allah in form of repentance and supplication for forgiveness, protection and improvement.
The blessed Companion Abu Huraira(Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: Allah created His creation and when He finished it, the womb said: This is the place for him who seeks Your refuge from severing blood relationship.
He said: Yes. Are you not satisfied that I should keep relationship with one who joins your ties (of relationship) and sever it with one who sever your ties.
It said: Yes, O my Lord!
He said: That is done for you.
Allah’s Messenger (Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him) said: Recite, if you wish, this verse:
”Would you then, if you were given the authority, do mischief in the land and sever your ties of kinship? Those it is whom Allah has cursed, so He has made them deaf and blinded their eyes. Do they not reflect on the Qur’an? Or, are there locks on their hearts?”.” (47:22)
(Bukhari and Muslim)
Our Mother A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported Allah’s Messenger (Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him) as saying: The tie of kinship is suspended to the Throne and says: He who unites me Allah would unite him and he who severed me Allah would sever him.
(Sahih Muslim)
Hakim al=Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
If someone fears that if he becomes pious (muttaqi), he will lose out on the worldly pleasures, then I say; “Make the intention that I do not want to become pious. However, for the sake of Allah spend some time in the company of the ‘ulama and the masha’ikh and understand the din. The result of this will be that you will not experience any difficulty in becoming pious. On your own accord you will build up the interest to practice (on the din) and you will experience such joy and pleasure in practicing on the din that you will forget about all the worldly pleasures.”
Advices of Hakim al-Umma: Part Six
Hagerstown, MD
Hakim ul Umma Shaykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said:
“My (that is, the Shaykh’s) primary responsibility is to cultivate the desired moral characteristics in a murid (i.e. thankfulness, patience, love of Allah SWT and His messenger, humility, khushoo, fear, etc.) and not the rectification of his (outwards) actions (a’mal).
This is so because, once these moral characteristics are successfully developed the outward actions are rectified automatically.”
Aspirant/Salik needs to understand and assimilate this principle very clearly upfront.
Maasir e Hakeemul Ummat ra 163
Bridgeport, WV
Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Perfect (kamil) and fully qualified (mukamal) individual is the one who is exactly following the footsteps of Allah’s approved Messenger (Muhammad, Allah bless him and grant him peace). His exterior appearance should be like the exterior appearance of the Messenger. And his inner condition (batin) must be like that of the inner condition of the Messenger to.
That is, he should be following the Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) in every command and state (hal).’
Waaz: Tariq e qalander, Mawaiz e Hakim al-Ummat ra, page 246
Rockville, MD
Arif-billah Dr. Abdul Hayy ‘Arifi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
“My respected Shaykh (Hakim al-Umma) used to say with much amusement,
‘Don’t always quibble about the inner-self (nafs) and Shaytan.
In a sense they are also our benefactor. That is, if there was no sinful ideation by them how could we progress spiritually?
See it for yourself. They instigate us to sin but with firm determination we avoid it. This leads to registering of reward for not sinning in our records.
God forbid, if we slip and commit sin, then immediately we feel remorse and repent making supplication for forgiveness. The feeling of inadequacy and incompetence arises. The pride of sanctimony and self-righteousness vanishes. Moreover in the heart the feeling of spiritual collapse and humility is born. This is the servitude (abdiyet) that Allah likes the most.
Now deduce from all of this how our innerself (nafs) and Shaytan are becoming a source of bringing us close to Allah, Most High.
The only essential condition (to achieve this benefit) is that one should not be negligent of their tricks.”
Ta’lemat e “Arifi, page 62
Washington DC
Arifbillah Dr. Abdul Hayy Arifi relates that in the last years of his life Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on them) used to say,
‘At 80 years of age I have come to the conclusion that dua (supplication) is the most superior form of worship (i’badah).”
Explaining it further Hazrat Arifi ra said this because in dua one has a sincere concentrated attention(tawajuh ilal Allah) and turning towards Allah SWT(ruju’ ilal Allah).
Also it is a manifestation of one’s slavehood(a’bdiyat) and total dependence (muhtaj ).’
Jawahir Hakim al-Umma ra
مجالس حکیم الامت رح
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) narrates the following incident in one of his discourses:
Khawaja Bakhtiyar Kaki quddus sirahu’s janazah was ready for the salah. The khadim-e-khas came forward and announced that according to the will of Khawaja the funeral prayer (salat-ul-janazah) is to be led by the person who fulfills these 3 requirements:
1. He should have never laid eyes on any unrelated women (non-mehram) after reaching puberty.
2. He should have never missed the 4 rakat of sunnah-prayer (ghair-muakkidah) before asr salah.
3. Because of the fear and awe of Allah, he never looked upwards towards heavens.
The huge crowd stood still. All the awliya of Dehli and Shaykh’s senior khulafa were there. No one came forward. Khadim repeatedly announced the requirements. But there was no response. A sense of impatience was being felt.
Finally, Sultan Shamusddin Altamash (Allah have mercy on him) stepped forwards. He remarked, “No one knew my secret, the respected Khawaja disclosed it. All praise is for Allah, I fullfil these criteria”. He then led the prayers.
Even after his demise Khawaja Bakhtiyar Kaki (Allah have mercy on him) taught a tremendous message:
To his khulafa and mureedeen he taught the lesson of humility (tawadhu’) and saved them from self admiration (u’jub). He motivated them to perform and be consistent with the supererogatory (mustehibat) acts of worship. Also, he taught them to never under estimate others and have a high opinion for them.
To the public who always complain that they are too busily involved in acquiring means for survival and can not spare time for essential worship lest for nawafil, he showed them the example of the king. Their ruler who had a huge responsibity, numerous tasks and varied commitments to attend to, but still he was steadfast even in praying the pre-asr ghair-muakkidah sunna. His modesty did not allow him to look at the unlawful. His fear of accountability to Allah was so pervasive that he did not dare look towards the heaven. Leaving us pondering:If a monarch can be like this why can not it be us?
ہرگز نہ میرد آنکہ دلش زندہ شد زعشق
ثبت ازبر جریدہء عالم دوام ما
عارف باللہ ڈاکٹر عبدالحئی عارفی رحمۃ اللہ علیہ نے فرمایا
بہتر یہ ہے کے صبح کے معمولات کے بعد اس طرح دعا بھی کرلیا کریں
یا اللہ
اپنا فضل و کرم فرمایئے
مجھے اور میرے متعلقین کو ہر طرح کی ظاہری و باطنی پریشانیوں سے محفوظ رکھیۓ،
ہر طرح کی فواحش و منکرات سے، نفس و شیطان کے مکائد سے،
ارضی و سماوی آفات و سانحات سے، ہر طرح کے سنگین حالات اور بیماریوں سے
اور لوگوں کی ہر طرح کی ایذا رسانی سے بچا کر اپنی حفاظت عطا فرمایئے، آمین
معمولات یومیہ، ص 23