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
الوقت سیف فان قطعتہ و الا قطعک
و نفسک ان لم تشغلہا بالحق شغلتک بالباطل
Time is like a sword.
If you do not use it appropriately it will sever you.
And
if you do not keep yourself engaged in seeking the truth
your self will seek refuge in evil.
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said:
Keeping record of time and its organization is a very important thing. It is inappropriate to spend time allocated for one activity in some thing else and then use the other slot to do another thing.
An activity should be done at its scheduled time.
This results in increased barakah (blessing) in time and contentment (of heart).”
HusunulAziz, #434 pg 412 volume 2
An aspirant wrote:
Please, tell me a litany (dua), which creates overwhelming love of Allah and His messenger, ever present fear of Allah in my heart, nonexistence or a decrease in the love of the worldly and complete fearlessness from other-than Allah.
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
صوفی نہ شود صافی تا در نہ کشد جامی
بسیار سفر بایدتا پختہ شود خامی
(A sufi does not attain purity until after a toil and struggle.
A lengthy journey is required to attain perfection.)
Being firm on the zikr (remembrance), shugal (mental exercise of specific forms of remembrance), reading useful books (i.e. of Tasawwuf) and keeping company of pious (ahlulAllah) for a considerable duration of time leads to attainment of these treasures.
There is no specific dua for it.
(Tarbiyatus Salik volume 1 page 137)
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘The real criteria for being pious (buzurg) is that as one progresses in spirituality the more he resembles the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).
This is because the friendship of Allah (wilayet) is a derivative of the Prophethood (nubuwat).’
al-Rafiq fi suwa it-Tareeq, Malfuzat e Hakim al-Ummat volume 27-28, page 89
مولانا سید ابوالحسن علی ندوی رحمۃ اللہ علیہ فرماتے ہیں،
میرے نزدیک مسلمانوں کا اس وقت مرض نہ کفر ہے نہ جہل ہے
اور نہ عمومی و عالمگیر فسق۔
ان کا مرض ظاہر و باطن کا اختلاف،
عقیدہ و عمل کی عدم مطابقت،
دعوے اور عمل کا تضاد،
عبادت اور اخلاق میں نہ صرف عدم مناسبت بلکہ بعد،
دنیا کو آخرت پر ترجیح،
اپنے حقیر و موہوم مفاد کے لئے دوسروں کے حقوق کی پامالی اور حق تلفی،
شریعت کو زندگی کے تمام شعبوں میں جاری و ساری نہ کرنے کی عادت،
رسوم و مظاہر کو حقائق و جواہر پر مقدم رکھنا اور ان کی احکام الہی کی طرح تعمیل کرنا ہے۔
(حیات مصلح الامت رح، ص3)
Shaykh Mawlana Mohammad Yaqub Nanotawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘The accepted path is rooted in the following of Sunna.
This following is in obvious and esoteric affairs, beliefs and actions.
The reality of following the Sunna in our era is avoidance of innovations and traditional rituals (rusoom).’
Maktubat e Yaqubi ra, page 11
.
……..sometimes passes through rough terrain
A sincere seeker wrote of his declining spiritual condition to one of his close friend. He received the following reply. Being in sync with the teaching of sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) it is worth sharing.
In the name of Allah,
as salam o alaykum
JazakAllah for the kind email.
I read it in detail. Be assured that these are the natural up and downs of the path. As the Friends of Allah (awliya) say,
“Truly the fortunate one is he, who is blessed with the ability to recognize his own shortcomings.”
All praise is for Allah, that you have done this. That is, recognized and acknowledged the problem.
Now the second part is at hand. That is, to overcome these short comings. This is the spiritual struggle (mujahida). This will be facilitated by asking Allah sincerely to make it easy to control these unlawful desires (to indulge in sins). At the same time you will have to put all your effort in trying to do so. That is, using self determination (himmat). There is no short cut to success without genuine determination. In absence of sincere effort the likelihood of giving up sins will only be a wishful thinking.
You have already recognized that failure to follow a daily schedule of wird, etc. and loss of regular contact with Shaykh have resulted in this. Try to overcome these. You are smart, intelligent and hardworking. You can do it.
Set your priorities.
Ask your wife or a close friend to remind you of them if they see you slipping.
Set a penalty if you do slip. Like four units (rakat) salah of repentance and/or skipping everything sweet that day, or something similar that is a burden on your self (nafs). This is to remind and ingrain that mistakes have consequences.
It is okay to slip and fall.
However, it is not okay to keep lying flat in dirt for ever.
Saturday 5th July, 2008/1st Rajab 1429
A murid wrote:
I do not find any of the daily activities (i.e. salat, dhikr, reading, etc.) interesting. I feel as if all my emotions and feelings are numb. Please, advice!
Sayyidi wa sanadi Hazrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him and allow us to benefit from him abundantly. Amin!) replied;
This is also one of the (inner) states (hal).
It seems to convey an important message regarding the inner states.
It is emphasizing that the necessary things are to be done even without passion. Having enthusiasm, fervor, dedication is not essential (for action). And in most situations this is more beneficial.
(That is, without emotional involvement actions are done purely for Allah SWT. There is no mixing/partnership of satisfaction of one’s enthusiasm.)
Islahi Khutoot
Following is an extract from the supplications of our master, the mercy to the Universe Prophet Mohammad (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him). It is very much reflective of his slavehood (abdiyet).
اللهم إنك تسمع كلامي
وترى مكاني وتعلم سري وعلانيتي
لا يخفى عليك شيء من أمري و
أنا البائس الفقير
المستغيث المستجير , الوجل المشفق
المقر المعترف بذنبه
أسألك مسألة المسكين
وأبتهل إليك ابتهال المذنب الذليل
وأدعوك دعاء الخائف الضرير
دعاء منخضعت لك رقبته
وذل لك جسمه , ورغم لك أنفه
O Allah! You hear my speech and behold my situation.
You know my secret and open matters.
None of my affairs is concealed from You!
And I am the miserable, needy, suppliant, succor seeking,
fearful and anxious person who confesses and recognizes his sins.
I beg you – the begging of a destitute.
I implore you – the imploring of an abased sinner.
And I make dua to You – the dua of the fearful afflicted person,
whose neck is bowed down before You,
whose eyes pour out tears before You,
whose body is humbled before You and
whose nose touches the ground for You repeatedly.
(Munajat-e-Maqbul, manzil #3 (Monday) , Supplication #108)
May Allah bless us with some degree of this humility. Amin!
A brother inquired about the need of ‘ijazah‘ (permission) to recite from ‘Hisn-haseen’ (a collection of Sunna azkar).
As per the teachings of sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) following reply was given.
There is some detail to this ‘ijazah’ issue.
For the azkar mentioned in Quran and hadith no specific permission is required. The mentioning of it by Allah and His messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) is enough ijazah for all to recite.
However, if a person has a Shaykh who is doing his spiritual tarbiyah then it is essential etiquette (adab) to get his permission for all recitations one is going to include in his daily routine. This brings blessings (barakah) in this recitation.
The reasons for this barakah are,
1. There may be some other higher priority things pending (like completing his many years of qaza salah, earning a halal living, etc.) and the Shaykh will redirect his focus on these essential things.
2. Breaking the habit of doing whatever comes to mind
3. Developing the Sunna habit of consultation.
4. Keeping the Shaykh informed of one’s condition. For advanced murid this calling may be a sign of spiritual progress
5. Informing the Shaykh will also enforce persistence in daily recitation. That is, after getting the permission it is extremely bad to not do it. Also Shaykh will inquire about the previous recitations if in future another similar request is made.
It is a misconception that the barakah of ‘ijazah’ is somewhat similar to a nur or an electric current that passes on from the Shaykh to whom the ijazah is given. It is assumed that without this the recitation will be invalid or less effective or even spiritually or mentally detrimental. This is incorrect.
May Allah guide us all. Amin!
(P.S. All this discussion is in regards to awrad and azkar and do not apply to a’maliyat)
Related:
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,
‘As per the Prophetic saying (hadith) Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) considers that making supplications (dua) for the deceased are more superior and beneficial then doing esal e thawab (forwarding the reward of good actions).’
Waaz: surah wash Shamah ki tafeer May 2009
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
“When a man dies, his acts come to an end, but three, recurring charity, or knowledge (by which people) benefit, or a pious son, who prays for him (for the deceased).”
[Sahih Muslim]
Khawajah Mohammad Ma’soom Mujaddidi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Believe it with certainty that the love (muhabba) and company (suhba) of a person who possesses millions of virtues and miracles (karamat) but is slack in following the Sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) are lethal poisons.
Whereas, the love and company of an individual who holds no virtues or miracles at all but is steadfast in following the Sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) are indispensable elixirs.
Tazkirah Muslih al-Umma ra, page 205
احمد تو عاشقی بمشیخیت ترا چہ کار
دیوانہ باش سلسلہ شد شد نشد نشد
(مجمع بڑھانے کی کوشش) فضول تو اسی درجہ میں ہے جب کہ
اس سےضروریات و معمولات میں خلل نہ ہو، اگر اس کی بھی نوبت
آنے لگے تو پھر سدراہ ہے۔
لوگ کہتے ہیں کہ ہماری نیت تو مخلوق کی ہدایت ہے،
سو یاد رکھو کہ
اصل مقصود اپنا وصول الی اللہ ہے،
دوسروں کا ایصال بھی اسی لئے مطلوب ہے کہ
اس کے ذریعہ سے ہم کو بھی وصول تام ہو جاۓ،
حق تعالی راضی ہوجائیں۔
ورنہ ایصال خلق خود بالذات مطلوب نہیں، خصوص جبکہ
مخل وصول ہونے لگے۔
پس اصلی کوشش اپنے وصول کے لئے کرنا۔
البتہ بدون کاوش اور گھیر گھار کے کوئی طالب آجاۓ اور
اس کی طلب بھی محقق ہوجاۓ
تو اس کی خدمت کردینے کا بھی مضائقہ نہیں، بلکہ طاعت ہے۔
باقی یہ کیا واہیات ہے کہ ساری کوشش سلسلہ بڑھانے ہی
کے لئے کی جاتی ہے اور
اپنے وصول کی فکر نہیں۔
وعظ: الوصل وہلفصل، خطبات حکیم الامت رح، جلد 15/ص 192
An individual reported sudden passing away of her mother. She expressed her sorrow on the inability to provide any service to her during her life, especially that done during the old age and terminal illlness.
Shaykh al-mashaikh Nawab Eshrat Ali Khan Qaiser (Allah preserve him) consoled her and instructed,
‘The time to serve her has just started, indeed.’
That is, by making supplications (dua) and esal e thawab (i.e. forwarding the reward of good action to the deceased) .
Reported by daughter of Mrs. Sawlat S (Allah have mercy on her).
سیدی و سندی حضرت مولانا محمد تقی عثمانی صاحب مدظلہم العالی نے فرمایا ،
(گناہ) صغیرہ اس وقت تک صغیرہ ہے جب تک آدمی اتفاقا” کبھی ایسا کام کرلے اور اگر اس کو عادت بنالے اور اس پر اصرار کرے تو پھر وہ صغیرہ بھی کبیرہ ہوگا، نیز اگر گناہ کو معمولی سمجھ کر کرے تو بھی کبیرہ کہا ہے، اس لئے کہ اللہ جل شانہ کی نافرمانی چاہے چھوٹی چیز میں ہو یا بڑی چیز میں ہو، ہے تو نافرمانی۔ اب اگر کوئی اس نافرمانی کو معمولی سمجھ کر نظرانداز کرے تو یہ استھانت اور استخفاف ہے اس لئے گناہ کبیرہ ہے۔
لہذا اس چکر میں مت پڑنا کہ بھائی یہ صغیرہ ہے چلو کرگزرو۔
حضرت حکیم الامت حضرت تھانوی رحمۃ اللہ علیہ صغیرہ و کبیرہ کی مثال دیتے ہیں کہ جیسے چنگاری اور بڑا شعلہ، دونوں آگ ہیں، کیا کوئی شخص یہ سمجھ کر کہ یہ چھوٹی سی چنگاری ہے اپنی الماری میں رکھ لے گا، ایسا کوئی نہیں کرے گا، اس لئے کہ اگر رکھے گا تو جلادے گی۔
اس لئے جو کہا گیا ہے کہ روزہ، نماز، صغیرہ (گناہ) کے لئے کفارہ بن جاتے ہیں، اس سے کبھی یہ مت سمجھنا کہ یہ معمولی چیز ہے، لہذا کر گزرو۔ یہ کفارہ اس وقت بنتے ہیں جبکہ اتفاقا” بھول چوک سے سرزد ہوجاۓ، لیکن باقاعدہ مقصد بنا کر، ارادہ کر کے، اسے معمولی سمجھ کر کرتا ہے تو یہ کبیرہ ہی کہ حکم میں ہے۔
اللہ تعالی اپنی مدد اور نصرت سے محفوظ فرماۓ۔ آمین!
انعام الباری، جلد 3، ص 277