Qutub e ‘alam Shaykh al-mashaikh Mawlana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi (Allah have mercy on him) wrote,
‘The remembrance of Allah (dhikr) is such a thing that if done consistently even with (non-volitional) unawareness, random thoughts, stress of worldly involvements merely with the movement of tongue then also it is beneficial and illuminates the qalb (heart).’
Madhmoon e dhikr, Majmua’ Talefat e Muslih al-Ummat ra, volume 3, page 6
Shaykh Shah Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah have mercy on him) said that,
‘The author of Ruh al-Ma’ani has explained the meaning of ‘good of this world’ as sound health and serenity (‘afiyet).’
What is ‘afiyet?
Our master Shaykh Ahmad Kabir Rifai (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Be considerate of the blessing of serenity. The reality of which is that the process of breathing continues without discomfort, the daily sustains is achieved without (much) hardship and the good actions are done without ostentation.”
Mujmua e talifat e Muslih al-ummat ra, volume 2, page 12-13
Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Actions that diminish sufferings and hardships include:
– Recalling our transgressions (sin)
– Reminding ourself of the reward/compensation on hardships
– Reflecting that in hardship there is test of faith (‘eman). That is, it analyzes if there is faith present or not.
– Remembering, it causes a state of overwhelming slave-hood (abdiyat). The dirt of self-assertion, arrogance and pride is cleansed. The reality of one’s being is revealed and the person realizes not to make any boastful claims.
– Bringing to mind that it causes one to perceive the supremacy and grandeur of Allah’s actions and one’s own feebleness.
Hence, hardships result in increasing slave hood (abdiyat). And the abdiyat is a very distinguished state (maqam).”
Ma’asir Hakeemul Ummat, page 390-1
‘Join XYZ-Jamat or PQRS-Tariqa!’
A common advice we all often get. Directly or indirectly by our well-wishers. Most of us are offended and become defensive. We retaliate with our own suggestions. A few become confused. A smaller number becomes disillusioned by these rivalries and schisms. May Allah save us all from these disasters. Amin!
The sincerity of these well-wishers can not be questioned at all.
However, it should be a wake up alarm to us. Following questions must pop-up in our mind. Why did this person suggest this to me in particular? Am I following correctly and progressing in my religious effort? Or there is something that made this person feel that I need to improve?
Thinking on these lines this lowly writer came up with a random quick checklist for myself. InshaAllah, it will be beneficial for others.
The Checklist:
I need to have explicit answers to the following statements from the time I joined this specific group, jamat, tariqa or started on my own to be more religious ,
1. I thoroughly studied the fiqh of everyday worship and apply it meticulously.
2. Made record of my missed salah, fasts, zikah, hajj and financial dues. I am trying to compensate for them.
3. I have improved my tajweed.
4. My actions on Sunna has increased. That is, appearance, manners, actions and supplications for different occasions like waking up, eating, sleeping, wearing clothes, etc.
5. My salah is more organized, on time, in congregation (if masjid is close by) with better concentration.
6. I deal with humility when interacting with my family members (especially parents and spouse) and others.
7. I can better control my anger.
8. My school/college/work performance has increased or at least not deteriorated.
9. My involvement in useless (TV, Internet, news, magazines, novels, etc.) has decreased substantially.
10. I am worried about causing discomfort and harm to others and try my best to avoid it.
11. The sins I used to commit previously have decreased substantially in frequency and intensity.
12. My day is better organized with time allocations for recitation of Holy Quran, dhikr and religious reading.
13. I do not look down upon fellow Muslims.
If answers to most (>11) of the above questions is affirmative then we need to be thankful to Allah and continue on our path to perform even better.
However, if this is not the case then there are two possibilities.
Firstly, either we are not following the teachings of that group, jamat or tariqa correctly.
Or if we are doing all the things as per instruction then that group, jamat or tariqa is invalid. At least this is true for us, maybe secondary to our circumstances and environment. It is only in this case that we need to pay heed to the advice of that well-wisher and look into the XYZ & PQRS option.
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said,
‘In a Prophetic tradition (hadith) it is narrated that; the person whose two days are the same is in big loss.
This means that his today was spent in the same manner as yesterday and no progress occurred.
That is, progress in being more religious, in spiritual evolution, increase in worship and improvement in obedience, following of Sunna and abundance in Allah’s remembrance.’
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Picture: Mihrab of Masjid Mehdar, Tarim, Yemen
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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
____________
‘O Ahmad! act (virtuously) before you die, and
annihilate yourself (i.e. your sinful and blame worthy desires and actions) before your death.’
___________________
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 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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Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,
‘The development in technology has led to remarkable shortening of time required to accomplish common everyday chores. For example, the use of mobile phone, email, modern transport means, gas and electric cooking etc. has drastically decreased the time required for similar actions done previously via conventional methods. However, it is essential for us to contemplate that what use are we making of the extra time that is being saved.’
Sunday waaz 2010, Darul Uloom Karachi