Hakim ul Umma Shaykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said commenting on the verse 83 of surah Shu’raa:
“O my Lord! bestow wisdom on me, and join me with the righteous”,
“A salik must not stop at any stage (during his spiritual quest).
He should always strive and aspire for more progress.”
Masail us Sulook min Kalam Malik ul Mulook, page 397
Shaykh Wasiullah (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘The effect of real acts of obedience is that an individual does not observe any virtue (kamal) in him/herself at all.
If there in no development of humility, abasement, feeling of inability and lowliness after an act of worship then one should consider that this worship lacked sincerity.’
‘Iteraf e zunoob, page 99
The reason is that true worship illuminates the inner-self which in turn reveals the actual state within.
For example, it is like switching on the light bulb in a dark room. The illumination will reveal all the defects that were concealed by the darkness.
Cognizant of all the deficiencies an individual is now better equipped for attempting their rectification.
Similar should be our condition after Ramadhan.
Recently Shaykh Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) advised a murid to bury the past and make a fresh start.
Burying the past may sound a simple thing but in reality it is a big spiritual struggle (mujahidah) with many benefits.
For all of us it is a common event to slip and commit mistakes. These mistakes may be in exoteric (dhahiri) or esoteric (batini) works. Sometimes we are cognizant of our mistakes and at others oblivious. However, a true seeker is very much disturbed by these mistakes. He is ashamed infront of Allah, disheartened on his ability to control his desires, disillusioned by the effectiveness of the path in preventing this disaster and anxious about the future similar mishaps.
These are the moments when the need of a perfect spiritual mentor – the Shaykh-e-kamil, is essential to save the seeker from falling further in to the trap of Satan and lower self (nafs). It is he who guides the murid out of this depressive and self-destructive attitude and puts him back on the path towards Allah.
He does so by,
a. Giving the seeker hope. That is, it is human to err and Allah is Most Merciful to those who acknowledge their short comings.
b. Instruction to forget the past. Bury it. If this is not done, its dead body will rot and the stench emanating from it will spoil the best aroma of sincere good acts done in future. Also, remembering the sins after sincere repentance is wrong and leads to decreasing relationship with Allah.
c. To be concerned with improving the present condition right now. For this today will tomorrow become yesterday. A thing of past.
If handled in this way each and every mistake and fall of the sincere seeker results in increasing relationship with Allah, enhanced humility and complete dependence on His kindness and mercy.
A seeker should remember that these falling episodes are not uncommon and continue until a permanent spiritual serenity (tamkeen) is achieved (which usually happens after years of sincere effort by method described above). Until then he/she has to bury the past with sincere repentance and move forwards on the path with renewed vigor.
And its facilitation is surely from Allah, Most High.
Our master Prophet Muhammad, (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) said,
“This is the middle Night of Sha’ban. Allah frees in it a large number of the people from Fire, more than the number of the hair growing on the sheep of the tribe, Kalb. But He does not even look at an individual who
– associates partners with Allah, or
– who nourishes malice in his heart (against someone), or
– who cuts off the ties of kinship (qata’ rehmi), or
– who leaves his clothes extending beyond his ankles (as a sign of pride), or
– who disobeys his parents, or
– who has a habit of drinking wine.”
Allah save us from being among these individuals. Amin!
Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) narrates the following story in one of his discourses,
A junior policeman was doing his daily rounds. He saw a dervish humbly walking by. Just to make a point and assert his rank on the people surrounding him the policeman slapped the dervish telling him to be watchful and not to mess around.
Rubbing his cheek, the dervish supplicated “O Allah! Make him a Sheriff.”
The policeman felt reassured that this person is insane. I slapped him and he is praying for my promotion.
It so happened that the Governor of the state came for visit and being pleased with this policeman promoted him directly to the post of a sheriff.
This reminded him of the dervish. He thought to himself, ‘I should go and ask forgiveness from him for my mistake and also present some gift to him.’ So he went with the sweets and said, “’Sir, from your supplication I actually got that exact position which you prayed for and due to this good news I have brought these sweets for you. I am ashamed of my behavior. I made a big mistake. I was not aware of your exalted position. And you still prayed in my favor. I apologize and offer my services to you. Please, ask for something specific and I will get it for you.’
Initially the dervish refused. There was nothing that he wanted. However, the constable continued to pester him. The dervish told him, “Okay! Bring me some scorpions. But make sure that they are black in color and each one is the size of human hand.”
The sheriff searched in despair for such scorpions. He even involved his whole police department and they failed. All the scorpions they found were of smaller size.
Eventually he returned to the dervish saying, “Sir, these kinds of scorpions are nowhere to be found.”
The dervish replied, “Come with me, I will show you.” He led him to the graveyard. Digging at a particular grave, he told him to look inside. There were thousands of black and human hand sized scorpions gripping onto a skeleton. The sheriff was horrified.
The dervish asked him, ‘Would you care to know whose grave is it? This is the grave of a Sheriff.
You thought I prayed in favor of you but that was not the case.”
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Not all progress and promotion is guaranteed to be a blessing. Sometimes it may be a Divine plan to punish us for our wrong doings.
May Allah save us. Amin!
Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and do good to parents. If any one of them or both of them reach old age, do not say to them: uff (a word or expression of anger or contempt) and do not scold them, and address them with respectful words,
and submit yourself before them in humility out of compassion, and say, “My Lord, be merciful to them as they have brought me up in my childhood.”
Your Lord knows best what is in your hearts. If you are righteous, then He is Most-Forgiving for those who turn to Him in repentance.
Give the relative his right, and the needy and the wayfarer. And do not squander recklessly.
Surely, squanderers are brothers of satans, and the Satan is very ungrateful to his Lord.
[Quran, 17:23 – 27]
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
جملہ اوراق و کتب در نار کن
سینہ را از نور حق گلزار کن
اوروں پر معترض تھے لیکن جو آنکھ کھولی
اپنے ہی دل کو ہم نے گنج عیوب پایا
Our Shaykh Ziauddin Abun Najeeb Suhrawardi (Allah have mercy on him) narrates that,
‘The virtue (khair) in the people of Tasawwuf will last only till they act with disinclination amongst themselves. They will be destroyed once they develop mutual concordance and live in harmony with each other.
Shaykh Ruaim (Allah have mercy on him) has pointed out that this means that they should keep an eye on and hold each other accountable (that is, do their muhasaba for things that are inappropriate).’
Awarif al-Ma’arif, page 267 (Urdu translation published by Progressive books, Lahore)
Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Mawlana Shah Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Listen and remember, I tell this for your own benefit.
In this path (tareeq) two things are the worst rogue and the deadliest poison.
Firstly, making explanations for one’s mistakes and secondly, criticizing one’s instructor (the Sheikh).”
Maasir e Hakeemul Ummat 406
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 Raziuddin Ahmad Fakhri (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
“Similar to the good and bad effects of the company of an individual and the items of his/her personal use, books, magazines and newspapers also have these effects.
One has to be very cautious in deciding which book or newspaper to read. “
Ahl e sulook per achi buri sohbet kay aseraat, page 22
This is also relevant for internet.
Wasting time by visiting unhealthy sites, engaging in useless discussions, chatting, viewing photos or videos and listening to unreliable audio speeches and nasheeds, etc. can be very detrimental spiritually for a seeker.
نعمتیں مل گئیں ہیں آہوں کی
ایسی تیسی میرے گناہوں کی
بابا نجم احسن رح
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