Category Archives: H. Whispering & random thoughts

wasawis and khatrat

Clarification: Bayah vs suhba

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Shaikh Mufti Muhammad Shuaibullah Khan (Allah preserve him)  said,

‘It must be very clear to all of us that bayah is not synonymous with keeping pious company (suhba) of a Shaikh.

Lot of people are under the false assumption that they are both the same. They make bayah and become content. They do not  make effort to improve their spiritual condition.

The knowledge and motivation for this effort to improve is derived from the pious company of the Shaikh. One has to ask for guidance and supplications from the Shaikh whenever faced with hardships or laziness in these spiritual efforts.

Moreover, it must be understood that the pious company of the Shaikh must be with the active intention of improving one’s spiritual condition. Without such intention mere pious company is not optimally beneficial in itself. ‘

The calamity of our era!

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Shaykh Mawlana Dr Hafiz Tanvir Ahmad Khan (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘The biggest calamity of our era is not to consider an evil to be evil, a sinful thing to be sinful, and impermissible (haram) activity to be impermissible.

This lowly individual remembers till today these words of Shaykh Mawlana Dr Abdul Hayy Arifi (Allah have mercy on him);

‘Alas. You will watch television, movies, and operate VCR. You are not going to abandon these activities. Moreover, you will continue all the other abominable practices.

The conditions these days have deteriorated to the extent that  it has become impossible to stop people from indulging in these activities.

Now our lamentation is that, for the sake of Allah, at least consider these things to be impermissible and sinful.

Do not boast about being involved in them. These days people take pride in them and boastfully tell others that we have television, VCR, video camera, etc.

Take heed! Consider these acts sinful.

Indulge in them with the understanding that they are sinful. Otherwise, it is feared that one may be be deprived of faith (eman).

Shamet e Aamal, page 8

Appreciating the contemporary elders

Shaykh al-Hadith Qutub al-aqtab Mawlana Zakarriya Kandhelawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

“…there is one very important fact to which I wish to draw attention.

When the Elders passed away many people desired to see those special qualities which were part of their Shaykh (in those who succeeded them). But it is clear that all those who follow the Elders and are in their footsteps will be less gifted than the Shaykh, except in few cases, as Allah pleases.

Those people who do not see the qualities of the Elder in his successors and turn away from their Shaykh’s path of Tasawwuf, are only doing themselves great harm.

I began to see this very clearly since the time of Hazrat (Rasheed Ahmad) Gangohi (may Allah have mercy on him). During the era of the most prominent deputies of Hazrat, I saw many of their contemporaries, who were also attached to Hazrat through Bay’at.  They saw that some of the special qualities which Hazrat had were no longer present in these deputies so they did not approach these deputies for spiritual guidance. This caused me a great pain and sorrow because these deputies (khulafa) were near to Allah  and possessed ‘nisbet‘ (the perpetual, close and mutually favorable relationship with Allah). If indeed these people had become connected to one of these deputies (khalifa), they would have progressed greatly.

…………….

What is islah & how is it done?

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As understood from the teachings of Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanavi (Allah have mercy on him) under Shaikh Mufti Taqi Usmani’s (Allah preserve him) guidance ,

Islah is the betterment or reformation or change of heart (dil badalna) in such a way that the commands of Shariah are followed both in external and internal acts of worship to the best of one’s ability. This is essentially accompanied with acknowledgment of one’s severe short comings in trying to do so.

The real islah is that of the actions of the heart (amal e batini) first and then the outwardly actions that are produced physically are rectified. It is usually not the other way around. This is as mention in the blessed Prophetic saying (hadith of qalb).

The initiating foundation stone of islah is a flash of Divine attraction (jazab) that is bestowed on the selected individual. Its outwardly reason maybe reading something touching, attending a pious individual or place, dua of parents, shaikh etc. In reality it is a kind gift (fadhal o karam) of Allah alone. Everyone of us has to beg for this fadhal e adheem ardently in his/her dua. If the individual is really blessed then he/she will try to safeguard the effects of this Divine attraction by reforming his/her (dhari o batini) actions. If he/she is careless then this will fade away and even might not return ever. Allah save us from this deprivation. Amin!

Tasawwuf provides a frame work for developing this islah. The components of Tasawwuf, like one-to-one mentor-ship, discipline, regular routine, wird, pious gathering and recommended readings all act as catalyst in this growth of islah. However, the real things needed to do the chemical reaction of islah are the firm determination and sincere effort of the salik him/herself.

Catalyst alone can not do the reaction.

Bayah is not essential for islah. It is highly discouraged to be hasty in selecting a Shaikh.

The special nights of Ramadan, Eid, the blessed days of Zil-Hajj, etc.  are ideal for asking for this fadhal e adheem of Allah.

Darul Uloom, Karachi

ذکر و لطائف کی تفصیل

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حضرت حکیم الامت مولانا اشرف علی تھانوی قدس اللہ سرہ نے فرمایا

چونکہ تصور (ذکر) کے دراجات مختلف ھیں اس لئے تقریب و تسھیل فی الجملہ و تعین دراجات کے واسطے میں ایک تمثیل میں پانچ درجے بیان کرتا ھوں

1۔ محبوب موجود و حاضر نہ ھو بلکہ غائب و غیر موجود ھو اس کو یاد کیا جاۓ ۔

2۔ وہ شخص سامنے موجود ھو لیکن مسافتہ بعیدہ پر جس سے خدوخال اچھی طرح نظر نہ آسکیں اس کا تصور کیا جاۓ۔

3۔ وہ شخص سامنے مسافت قریبہ پر موجود ھو جس سے خدوخال اچھی طرح نظر آسکیں اس کا تصور کیا جاۓ۔

4۔ وہ شخص بالکل قریب موجود ھو، اس کے تصور و دیدار میں اسقدر محویت ھو جاۓ کہ فرط عشق و محبت سے اپنی بھی خبر نہ رھے

5۔ وہ محویت یھاں تک ترقی کرے کہ بیخبری کی بھی خبر نہ رھے۔

–                           – – – – –

اب ھم ان دراجات کے اصطلاحی اور منقول نام بتلاتے ہیں۔

1۔ درجہ اول کا نام ذکر ھے کیونکہ اس میں محض یاد ھے۔

2۔ درجہ ثانی کا نام حضور ھے کیونکہ اس میں متصور و مرئی سامنے حاضر ھوتا ہے۔

3۔ درجہ ثالث کا نام مکاشفہ ھے کیونکہ مرئی کے غابت قرب کی وجہ سے حضور تام اور خال وخط کا کامل انکشاف ھوتا ھے۔

4۔ درجہ رابع کا نام شھود و مشاھدہ ھے کیونکہ اصطاحا” شھود و مشاھدہ حضور اتم و اکمل کو کھتے ہیں اور اس درجہ میں حضور اتم و اکمل سے غایت شیفتگی و فریفتگی و وفور ولولہ ھوتا ھے۔ نیز اس کا نام فناء بھی ھے کیونکہ محوبت کی وجہ سے اپنی ھستی کا علم نھیں ھوتا۔

5۔ درجہ خامسہ کا نام معائنہ ھے کیونکہ معائنہ سے مراد وہ حضور و معائنہ ھے جو شھود اصطلاحی سے زائد ھو۔ اس درجہ میں  معائنہ شھود اصطلاحی سے زائد ھوتا ھے کیونکہ لا علمی سے بھی لا علمی ھوتی ھے۔ اسی وجہ سے اس کا نام فناءالفناء بھی ھے۔

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1۔ لطیفہ قلب کا فعل ذکر ھے۔

2۔ لطیفہ روح کا فعل حضور ۔

3۔ لطیفہ سر کا فعل مکاشفہ  ۔

4۔ لطیف خفی کا فعل شھود و مشاھدہ و فناء۔۔

5۔ لطیفہ اخفی’ کا فعل  معائنہ و فناءالفناء  ھے۔

بعض حضرات مشائخ کی راۓ ھے کہ ذکر کی بطرز معھود و مخصوص اس قدر مشق کی جاۓ کہ یہ لطائف خمسہ علیحدہ ذاکر ھو جائیں یعنی یہ سب افعال صادر ھونے لگیں۔

بعض حضرات کی راۓ یہ ھے کہ صرف قلب سے ذکر کی مشق کی جاۓ جس سے ان سب افعال کا صدور ھونے لگے اور اس کی باکل ضرورت نھیں کہ یہ بتابا جاۓ کہ یہ فعل کس لطیفہ کا ھے۔ بہ حضرات لطائف کی طرف توجہ تفصیلی کو حجاب سمجھتے ھیں۔ حدیث شریف میں بھی ایسے امور میں صرف قلب ھی کہ ذکر وارد ھوا ھے۔

اور چونکہ مشغولین بالطائف کے نزدیک بھی ان لطائف خمسہ میں باھم اتصال ھے۔ اس لئے صرف ذکر قلب سے بھی بقیہ لطائف میں آثار و افعال مذکورہ سرایت کرتے جاتے ھیں، کیونکہ یہ لطائف مرایا متعاکسہ کی طرح ھیں۔

بوادر النوادر، صفحہ 565-6

A supplication

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O my Lord!

By Your stature and esteemed respect!

I did not indulge in sin to rebel against You!

When I was disobeying I was neither unaware of Your position (as our Lord), nor did I deny Your retribution,  nor did I consider Your watching me to be something minor.

However, my nafs incited and assisted me in indulging in these wretched acts.

The veil of Your concealment (as Sattar) made me pretentious.

I disobeyed You because of my ignorance. I disobeyed You by my actions.

Now who is going to save me from Your punishment?

If You excise the lifeline (of mercy and forgiveness) to me then what am I to grab (for my salvation)?

al-Murshid al Amin page 493-4

Prepare for Ramadhan

1. Ask Allah for facilitation (tawfeeq) to benefit from the blessings of Ramadan daily, from now onwards.

2. Make a firm determination to abstain from all sins. Especially those committed by the eyes, ears and tongue.

3. Try to free as much time as possible from work and other commitments for pure worship (ibadah).

4. Reschedule non essential appointments till after or before Ramadan. Finish all Ramadan and Eid shopping prior to the sighting of the crescent.

5. Make special effort to follow as many as possible Sunna in daily activities.
Learn these and memorize the adiya e masnoon (dua) for particular occasions before hand. The book “Alaikum bi sunnati”by Mawlana Abdul Hakim Sukharwi ra is a good, practical and handy resource for this.

6. Review the essential fiqh (rulings) relating to fasting, taraweeh and other Ramadan related issues from “Behishti Zewar” (Heavenly Ornaments) of Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him).

7. To get motivated and organized, read the discourses of Hakeem al -Umma regarding Ramadan (Mawaiz-e-Ashrafiya volume : Barakat e Ramadan) and listen to the talks of Sayyidi wa sandi db on how to prepare for the holy month.

8. Practice the actions of the Heart. Do not do any action without a proper intention.Abstain from all the blame worthy morals. No anger, arrogance, belittling caustic remarks, etc. It is strange to abstain from otherwise halal (lawful food) and commit an act which is always haram (forbidden). Try to do most of the praise worthy moral actions. Having patience, humility, gratitude, sincerity, etc. Keep a tight grip. Do not slip here.

9. Make a practical and doable time table for daily activities.

The point to remember is that in Ramadan acts of primary form of worships (i.e. salah, dhikr, tilawat, etc.) are to be increased. These lead to an increasing direct relationship with Allah  (i.e. ta’luq ma’Allah).

The tawfiq is from Allah!

Nafs

A spiritual aspirant wrote,

‘The similitude of my nafs is that of of slime covered slithery pig. Restraining it from indulging in sinful is extremely challenging. It wiggles violently and fights ferociously if I try to control it. Getting hold of this slippery, powerful and agile brute is extremely difficult.

Please, make supplication (dua) that Allah gives me the determination and courage to rein this beast. And facilitates this process effectively for me.’

Shaikh Dr Hafeezullah Madani (Allah have mercy on him) replied,

‘Amin!

An explicit and vivid similitude indeed.’

Makkah e mukarramah, 1424

Remembrance of Allah

Hakim al Ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘This is the action that stops the random thoughts and whisperings (wasawes). It keeps the lower self (nafs) involved in something (beneficial). If it was to be left on its own it would get into something (spiritually) detrimental.

It is acknowledged that this action is the remembrance (of Allah) by heart (dhikr e qalbi).

This can be done at all the times.

Therefore, involve your nafs in this action. By doing so it will not get into detrimental things and heedlessness (gaflah).’

Jawahirat e Hakim al Ummat ra, volume 3, page 68

Involvement in sinful and feeling of hopelessness

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Our master Shaikh Ibn e Ata-Allah al Iskanderi (Allah have mercy on him) said in al Hikam,

‘Commitment of a sinful act must not make you feel hopeless in acquiring a steadfast state with your Lord. Maybe this is the last sin destined for you.’

Shaikh Mawlana Abdullah al Gangohi (Allah have mercy on him) wrote in his explanation of this;

‘This is because involvement in sinful acts due to human nature (of being weak and forgetful) is not against steadfastness on Deen. However, persisting on sinful actions, not repenting and having an intention of committing it again are against steadfastness.’

Ikmal ush Shiyam, page 55