Category Archives: D. Acts of Worship

Various acts of devotion to show our servitude

Ever lasting spiritual struggle

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

“Hardship persists in performance of good deeds.  It is because these actions are against the desires of the lower self (nafs). The lower self essentially tries to fight them off. This  may be a minor or a major battle. Hence, it remains essential to act against the desires of the lower self by doing spiritual struggle (mujahida) life long.

This is true both for the novice (mubtadi) and the one who has arrived (muntahi). Both of them have to face the opposition of the lower self some time or another, either in  form of laziness in performance of good deeds or indulgence in a sin. Novice gets into it a lot and the muntahi a little. In order to prevail in this battle it is essential for both of them to engage in spiritual struggle (mujahida). ”

Basair al-Hakim al-Umma, page 164-5

Related: Spiritual struggle

Inquisitiveness about Shaykh’s Schedule

Shaykh al-Hadith Hadhrat Mawlana Zakariya Kandhelawi (may Allah have mercy on him) inquired about Hakim al-Umma Hadhrat Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi’s  (may Allah snctify his secret) Ramadan schedule.

Hadhrat Hakim al-Umma replied,

“The routine habits and actions which we are commanded to follow and implement in our lives are those of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace).

The habits of any ‘Ummati’ are not obligatory to follow.  In fact this practice of recording and gathering them can from certain points of view be detrimental. Therefore, to actively search for them is not advisable.

In gathering them and noting them down, there is a potential drawback. One of two things may happen. The deeds of the reader may be in excess or be less than that of the Shaykh. If his deeds are more than that of the Shaykh, he may be discouraged from increasing his acts of righteousness. He may reason that if the acts of this Shaykh are so few – fewer than mine – why should I toil and burden myself to do so much? And if the reader’s acts are less than that of the Shaykh, it is possible that he will be discouraged  (loosing the enthusiasm for doing more considering his present efforts to be negligent).”

Dhikr between each four units of Taraweeh

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

“There is no fixed form of dhikr in the interval between each four units of taraweeh(tarweeha) as per Shariah. I recite salutations on the Prophet of Allah (may Allah bless and give him peace).  In my personal opinion this is best. I recite it twenty five times (in a soft audible voice) so that if anyone has to do some necessary activity, like drink water, he will be able to rejoin the prayers (salah) before we restart.”

Increasing worship in Ramadan

Someone asked Hakim al-Umma Hadhrat Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) if performing extra worship and acts of devotion (ibadat) in Ramadan is not contrary to the generally accepted view that one should be constant and punctual in his routine worshipful acts (ibadat).

 Hahdrat Hakim al-Umma replied:

“Should one exceed his normal actions in worship (ibadat) in Ramadan, it will not be contrary to the rule of having constancy (that is stressed for all forms of routine worships). This is because in the first place, the intention is not made to be constant (in that worship. It is intended only for the duration of Ramadan). (In addition) The hadith tell us that Prophet of Allah (may Allah bless and give him peace) himself increased his devotions during Ramadan.”

Ramadhan al-kareem

Sayyedina Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be on him) delivered a Khutbah on the last day of Sh’aban saying:

“O people: You are about to enter the shadow of a great blessed month.

A night therein is better than a thousand months.

Allah made fasting during this month an obligation and encouraged people to perform extra prayers during its nights.

Seeking nearness to Allah through a good deed would be considered like performing an obligatory act of worship.

In turn, performance of an obligatory act of worship during this month would be rewarded seventy times more than during any other month.

It is the month of patience, and the reward for patience is Jannah.

It is the month of comforting others, and the month during which believers would enjoy plentifulness.

The Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be on him) went on to say:” Make sure you frequently do four things, two of which would please your Lord and the other two are indispensable for your salvation in the Hereafter.

As for the two things that would please your Lord, they are: testifying to the oneness of Allah and seeking repentance.

And the other two are: asking Allah the favor of entering Jannah and seeking refuge in Him from the Hell Fire.”

(Ibn Khuzaima)

O Allah! Please, give us all the blessings of this month.

We acknowledge that we don’t deserve them, but we are, for sure, in need of them indeed.

Please, ignore our faults. With Your infinite mercy bless us with all the good it contains.

Overall make it a means for us in achieving Your love and Your beloved’s (Allah’s blessing and peace be on him).

Ameen!

What to do & don’t in Ramadhan?

Mufti Mohammad Ibrahim Sadiqabadi, the khalifa of Hadhrat Mufti Rasheed Ahmad Ludhyanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) inquired his Shaykh regarding the special deeds to do in excess and to abstain from during the month of Ramadhan.

Hadhrat Mufti sahib replied,

“Excessive recitation of Quran and abstaining from excessive intermingling with others people (kasrat ma’ al inam).”

Sayyid wa murshidi, page 119

Do not leave wird totally!

An individual wrote,

I recite one section (manzil) of Dalail al-Khayrat and Munajat e Maqbul daily. However, some days I miss these recitations as a retribution of my deeds. 

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

“The section of Munajat e Maqbul are quite concise. There is no reason they should be missed. However, this is possible in the recitation of Dalail al-Khayrat. Recite individual sections over 3 or 4 days, completing the whole recitation of Dalail al-Khayrat in a month.”

Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 2, page 913-4 

Rights & We Muslims

Hadhrat Mawlana Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said,

“One should clearly distinguish between the Islamic teachings and the general practice of the Muslims. Unfortunately, we are living in an age where the vast majority of the Muslims are not aware of the noble teachings of Islam nor do they practice them in their day-to-day lives. Instead, they are mostly influenced by the different cultures in which they are/have been living. Therefore, everything the Muslims practice cannot be attributed to Islam. When one evaluates the virtues of Islam, he should not refer to the practice of the Muslims of today; rather he should turn to the principles laid down in the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah. Obviously, if the Muslims have abandoned the guidance of the Shari’ah, it cannot be seen as a defect in the Shari’ah itself. It is a defect in those who have deprived themselves of this Divine Guidance.”

From: Pearls of Elders 

Tajweed

Two young medical students who were receiving religious instructions from Hadhrat Mawlana  Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah  preserve him) came to live at Darul Uloom, Karachi in December 1991 to be in the blessed company of their Shaykh.

In their first meeting with the Shaykh, in addition to other important issues, Hadhrat instructed them to set up an appointment with Qari Abdul Malik sahib, the qirat expert at Darul Uloom, to have their recitation of Quran e kareem be evaluated.

Actions are by belief

Hadhrat Mawlana Wasiullah sahib (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

“Actions are done due to the believe (eman) and are not executed on understanding the logic behind them.”

Talefat e Wasiul Umma, volume 1, page 

We have to evaluate our practices on Sunna and recommended (mustahebat) acts based on this principle.

Solitude/Khalwat

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

“Even if a person is not able to perform other works (for his spiritual progress), he should at least appoint some time daily and sit silently in solitude. Doing this, inshaAllah, will direct him to the path.”

Rehmat al Qudoos translation & commentary of Allama Ibn Abi Jumra ra’s Bahjatun nafoos, page 23

Reading books

A spiritual aspirant wrote about his enthusiasm reading the books written by Hakim al-Umma Hadhrat Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) day and night.

Hadhrat Hakim al-Umma replied,

“The percentage of time spend in daily recitations (wird) and good actions (a’mal) should be greater than that spend in reading the books.

Your enthusiasm in this reading is from the pleasure of the subjects discussed and not the love of remembrance (dhikr).”

Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 1, page 476

Turn to Allah

Hadhrat Mawlana Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said,

“Our city (Karachi) is going through difficult times these days. Every one is worried and restless. Almost every house faces a problem either directly or indirectly. In spite of that our condition is that we only discuss the situation and comment on it. But, are there any among us who are really concerned and who turn to Allah and pray to Him to correct the situation? “O Allah! We are faced with difficulty. The consequences of our sins have overwhelmed us. O Allah! Be merciful to us and remove the worrying condition from us”

Discourses on Islamic Way of Life (Vol:10)
From at-Tazkirah

Worship & Love

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

“The similitude of our daily basic recitations (ma’moolat/wird) is like wheels of a vehicle. They are essential for it to move. The love of Allah, most High, is like the fuel in its engine. Both are necessary for it to run. Lacking either of them is disastrous. To progress both are essential.

These ma’moolat and love are directly propotional to each other. The consistency in ma’moolat leads to increase in love and this enhanced love leads to further increase in worship and servitude. ”

Waaz 5/07

Muraqaba e duaiya

Hadhrat Haji Ahmad Nakuda of blessed Medinah, a senior khalifa of Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Zakariya Kandehlawi (may Allah have mercy on him) told that he was very much concerned when he read the hadith that towards the end of the world a person will be a Muslim in morning and an infidel in the evening and vice versa. He approached his Shaykh and asked him how can he safe guard himself from such a big calamity.

Hadhrat Shaykh al-Hadith(may Allah have mercy on him) replied,

‘By being consistent on your daily dhikr and muraqaba e duaiya (contemplative supplication).’

Hadhrat Haji sahib explained that muraqaba e duaiya is to make supplications (dua) by your heart without moving the tongue. The prayers are for the Umma’s betterment. It should be done for atleast 10 minutes daily.

May Allah give us the tawfeeq!

Jeddah, 6th May 2007