Shaykh Mawlana Wasiullah (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘If someone rebukes another individual without a reason and he remains silent. That is, not saying anything in return. This leads to extreme annihilation of the lower self (nafs).
Allah likes this quality very much.
This is also called patience (sabr), an unique quality of a believer.’
Shaykhan: Ainan e tajriyan, page 54
‘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!
Arrogance is a thing to be discarded, and humility is desired.
Arrogance reflects envy, and humility attracts friendship.
Arrogance is hideous, and humility is beautiful.
Arrogance leads to hatred, and humility brings forth love.
Arrogance is the behavior of niggards, and humility is the attribute of the noble.
Arrogance dissolves friendships, and humility strengthens them.
Arrogance is (one of the) most evil moral traits in men and women.
O Ahmad!
It is narrated by Ibn e Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) that
I am bewildered by the state of an individual
who has passed through the urinary outlet twice* and displays arrogance. ‘
Mulhemat of Shaykh Jamaluddin Ahmad Hansvi (Allah have mercy on him), page 41-43
(*First as a sperm and then as a newborn.)
——————–
A reader wrote,
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.
I need some clarifications:-
I always have doubts about the akabir of Deoband. That is, I want to know regarding the negative words that Barelwis spread about Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi.(rahmatullah alaih) and other akabir ulema. I respect the akabir of Deoband very much for their knowledge but after hearing the negative things about Deobandis, my heart is always in suspicion about the honesty of Deobandis.
Please,Please…. help!
And sorry for asking such questions.
Jazakallah hu khairaa.
Following reply was sent. (InshaAllah it will be beneficial to all of us.)
Bismillah
Respected brother
as salam o alaykum wrwb
JazakAllah.
There are two answers for your question.
First is the ilzami (accusatory) and other islahi (reformative).
The ilzami answer is that why don’t you have doubts and suspicions about the Baraelwi comments being corrupt, false, dishonest, thimblerig & politically motivated. If you can give me some reason then we might have a discussion. The upshot of this answer is how do you as an individual lay person can judge between the two groups?
Our akabir have taught us this, “A murid complained that when people talk negatively about you it hurts me and my heart aches.
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Shah Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) replied;
‘There are a multitude of people who talk badly about Allah, His messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and the scholars (mujtahideen). Have you done any thing to stop that?
If not, then why does it hurt you when poor Ashraf Ali is censured. And you feel concerned about stopping this?
There is nothing in this attitude except kibir (arrogance).
It annoys you when your seniors are censured. You feel humiliated at this. This is a hidden deception of nafs (ego/lower self).
Suppose, even if it is not kibir (arrogance). Then I ask, why did you feel concerned about anyone saying any thing good or bad (regarding my seniors).
What harm did it cause to you?
If you had focused on the goal (of tareeq, i.e. seeking perpetual pleasure of Allah ) you could not have time to waste on these petty issues.
Hakeemul Ummat ra kay hayret-angez waqiyat, page 81
The islahi answer is for the truth seeking sincere individual. May Allah make us both from them.Amin!
(Your openness to come forward and ask this is itself a sign of seeking the truth. MashaAllah.)
First it must be very clear that we are bound to follow Sunnah meticulously. Following Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) or Molvi Ahmad Raza Khan sahib is not an obligation. We won’t be questioned in here-after regarding this. If the following of Sunnah(both, external and inner) is facilitated through their teachings well and good. If not then you have to look somewhere else.
(Alhumdulliah, I have personally benefited a lot from the teachings of Hakim al-Umma in bringing deen into my life to a degree. May Allah allow me to benefit more. Amin! Similarly I have read about and seen personally lot of people who changed their life for better by following his teachings.)
Having doubts is natural phenomenon. However, being affected to the degree to actively suspect and consider another Muslim (irrespective of him being a pious, learned scholar/sufi) to be intentionally dishonest is blame-worthy condition (bad-gumani, keyna, etc.) . There should be explicit proof for this.
It is usually a result of keeping company with people who have this already in them and are lax on issue of ghibet/bad-gumani/hifazet-e-lisan/etc., and/or lack of knowledge and being involved in useless.
Being sins their darkness clouds the perception of truth. This can only be lifted by repentance and resulting Divine enlightenment.
The teaching of our pious master is,
کفر است در طریقت ما کینہ داشتن
آئین ما است سینہ چوں آئینہ داشتن
Please, make excessive supplication, keep your focus on the following of Sunna and consult your Shaykh for the cure of these potentially fatal spiritual ailments.
For the time being the best things to do will be,
1. Avoid all useless discussions.
2. Try your best to follow Sunnah meticulously in each and every aspect of your life.
3. Make dua excessively. Ask Allah SWT for guidance. Especially set 10 minutes daily after ‘esha salat and make dua for your own islah, isteqamat and correct understanding of deen.
4.If you lack information then please, read the book ‘Aqaid e Ulemae Deoband aur Hassam ul Haramain’. It is in Urdu and available online.
5. Even after all these measure if the doubt and suspicion persist then the best thing will be to ignore both the groups and follow the Sunnah and scholars who affiliate with none of these groups. It is best to remind ourselves that it is a fitnah by definition when truth can not be distinguished and things become suspicious. The best strategy as per Prophet (Allah bless and grant him peace) is to keep ourselves completely aloof from it.
I pray and hope that my rambling makes sense to you. If there are any question, please, do not hesitate to ask. The benefit is mutual. JazakAllah.
Take care.
Please, do try to make dua for me.
muhtaj
Shaykh Jamal-ud-din Ahmad Hansvi (d.1261) a senior khalifa of Baba Farid-ud-din Ganj Shakar (Allah Have mercy on them) wrote in his compilation of spiritual revelations,
‘O Ahmad!
Apostate are of two kinds.
One of Shariat and the other of tariqat (Tasawwuf).
The apostate in Shariat is the Muslim who renounces Islam.
In tariqat the disciple who disobeys the instructions of his Shaykh is an apostate of tariqat.’
Mulhemat (Originally written in Arabic. Published with Persian and Urdu translation. Considered to be one of the essential text of Chishtiya sulook.), page 72
Allah save us!
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)
A person wrote the following,
“I saw a dream that I am writing to you. It was the night of 27th Ramadan 1237H. With the possibility that it may be the Night of Power (shab e qadr) I had planned to offer optional salah (nawafil) all night. However, after ‘esha salah when I returned home I laid down on the bed besides the main door (to rest for a while). I fell asleep. Around two o’clock I saw a dream that I have traveled to a place where there is a very large open area, many miles wide. There is organized seating arrangement on the floor. In between there is a table covered with a table-cloth. Millions of people wearing their best clothes and perfume are sitting with reverence (adab). There are few high ranking individuals sitting on the chairs around the table. On the table there is writing board around 2-3 yards in length and 1 or 1.5 yards in breadth. A respected individual dressed in white gown (‘abaya) and green turban (‘amamah) on head is standing besides the table greeting and shaking hands with the crowd. The blessed face in radiant like the sun and with his enlightened and enlightening tongue he is telling them,
“I tell you with much emphasis that you should abstain from all that is impermissible (haram) and be steadfast on that is permissible (halal).”
Observing all this I went forward and greeted the blessed person with ‘as salam o alaikum’. He replied, ‘wa alaikum as salam wa rehmatullah’. I reached forward and shook hands and embraced him also. He told me that it was very good and that I should become a mureed, and he promised to tell me eleven things that he has reserved especially and exclusively for me. This humble guy (myself) stood there with utmost reverence. He gave me the permission to sit. I was going to sit on the floor but he instructed me to sit on one of the chairs. Thanking him I sat on one of the vacant chairs. I was extremely happy in my heart.
On the blackboard I saw numerous names written in elegant and bold white letter. I saw them very clearly. The names that I could read included, Hahdrat Mawlana Fazalur Rehman Ganjmuradabadi, …….., Haji Imdadullah, Haji Ashraf ‘Ali and Molvi Mohammad Ishaq, etc.
As I turned to my side I saw Hadhrat Mawlana Fazalur Rehman Ganjmuradabadi, whom I was blessed to visit as a child. Immediately it flashed to me that this is the scenario of Judgment day. The blessed individual is our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and those sitting on the chairs are his Companions, including Sayyidina Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman and ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all).
It also occurred to me that I am already a mureed (of a Shaykh) and should not hide it from the blessed Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and should seek Allah.
Around an hour or later the blessed Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) called for me. I shook hands and embraced him. Furthermore I reminded him of those eleven things he had promised to tell me so that I can follow them wholeheartedly. I also informed him that I am already a mureed but I want Allah. On hearing this, he immediately pulled away his hand from me and said, ‘Indeed you are ………. and you are the mureed of …………., an innovator (bida’ti). Futhermore he took a pencil and crossed out my and my Shaykh’s names from the list on the blackboard. Then the blessed Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) told me to go away. With lots of courage and adab I humbly said that my Shaykh is not an innovator.
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) replied that he is an innovator and in addition he associates partners with Allah (mushrik).
Humbly and with utmost veneration I said that I have never seen him doing any shirk.
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, he is involved in taking out effigies of the tombs of the martyrs of Kerbala (taziyadar), a lover of the worldly things, an idolater prostrating in front of the graves. Didn’t you see him at …….. village, in Lucknow that he bowed his head infront of his Shaykh’s grave and forbade you from visiting the holy sanctuary in Medinah e munawwara.
(I became a mureed in 1893 CE. In 1898 I received khilafa and in 1900 this incident happened. In this 26 or 27 years relationship I attended the death anniversary of a sufi saint (urs/hawl) and listened to the sufi poetry sung with musical instruments (qawwali) only once.)
I cried and begged but the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did not reply. As the last resort I ran and held the blessed feet of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) rebuffed my hands and stroked me (with his blessed foot) strongly in my ribs. I fell down and started to tremble. This woke me up. At that time I was crying, feeling the pain in my ribs and I was trembling. I went inside the house and told my son ………. Chatari the whole dream just mentioned. In the morning I wrote this all and send it to my Shaykh. He came in person to my house and listened to the whole incident again. His response was to prepare for Hajj journey this year in order to visit the blessed Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and ask forgiveness. I did not commit due to insufficient funds and debts.
Since I have seen this dream my conviction towards my respected Shaykh has waned off. Now I am approaching you for my religious betterment (islah). I will be very fortunate if I am considered to be your humble servant.
Hakim al-Umma Hadhrat Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
“This dream is absolute guidance. It is essential (wajib) to leave the Shaykh who acts against Sunna and to establish contact with truthful people (ahl e haqq). I have no hesitation in giving instructions regarding the spiritual path. Start acting on the fiqh as outlined in the books, Behashti Zewar (Heavenly Ornaments) and Islah e rasoom. Take the awrad from Qasdus sabil and general advices from my spiritual discourses (mawaiz). The full instructions in detail will be discussed when we meet in person.
Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 2, page 1069-70
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
———-
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
Our master Shaykh Sayyid Ahmad Kabir Rifa’i (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Two things accelerate one’s progress in religion (deen). One of them is to remember Allah (dhikr) in solitude. And the other is excessive remembrance (i.e. acknowledgment, thankfulness) of the bounties and blessings of Allah.’
Hikmet e Rifai ra, Urdu translation of ‘al-Hikam al-Rifai’ by Mawlana Abdul Haleem Sharar ra, (First edition printed in 1916, second reprint 1967), page 35
One of the very senior educationalists from Sindh University visited sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him). He lamented about the despairing prevalent conditions at the educational institutes, in society and the country all over. Corruption, hypocrisy (nifaq), irreligious trends and immodesty prevails. Truth, sincerity and honesty are mocked upon. He requested for a remedy.
Sayyidi wa sanadi replied,
‘Yes, indeed the conditions are such as you describe. However, Islam provides us a solution for all the conditions. There are are two things for us to do under these circumstances.
First is to focus on self rectification (islah). That is, to correct all the deficiencies an individual has in his actions and morals to the best of his abilities. This will at least make a single person better in the environment. And if all people act according to this strategy eventually the whole institute or country will change for the better.
The other thing is to make supplication (dua) for improvement in our condition. Asking Allah for help sincerely.
In order to avoid despair in these circumstances we need to reflect on the incident of Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) when he was invited to a vice by the wife of the ruler. He was aware that all the doors were locked, however, he decided to do whatever was within his means. That was, to run towards the door to escape. He did that. And Allah helped him by unlocking the doors miraculously.
We should do similarly. Trying to save ourselves and asking for help from Allah.
He then quoted the Persian couplets of Mawlana Rumi (Allah have mercy on him) about this incident.’
2nd January, 2011, prior to zuhar salah, office, Darul Uloom Karachi
It is a hallmark of Ashrafiya teachings to keep the things at their appropriate level in the hierarchy of Shariah rulings. An overemphasis on an issue can make it bida’ (innovation). Whereas, an underestimation can lead to loss of significant benefit.
There seems to be this kind of controversy regarding certain specific methods of remembrance and concentration techniques in Tasawwuf.
Understanding by means of example may make the issue a bit clearer.
Following extract is taken from an athletic training website,
‘Most of us enjoy watching professional athletes, at the peak of their performance, participate in their sports. Practicing a sport effectively demands a high degree of skill and requires the ultimate in physical fitness. This can only come about with regular training.
A professional athlete will need to plan a daily workout schedule so that they peak at their top performance on the day of the competition. This requires a carefully thought-out regime of cardio workouts, strength training, and stretches; along with strategic rest periods interspersed so that the athlete arrives at the day of the event perfectly trained but not over trained or under trained.
Exercise logs are how they keep track of all the details of their workouts each day. They include information such as the type of workout, the duration and the intensity. This not only keeps them on track to meeting their overreaching goals, but it also helps to motivate them because they can see in writing every day that they are making progress, which is encouraging.’
Months and years of such dedicated effort is needed to achieve the goal.
A spiritual seeker’s goal is to attain the absolute pleasure of Allah.
This can only be achieved by doing what is required and abandoning what is restricted by Shariah. This is his competitive event. It happens multiple times during the day each day of his life. This sounds simple. However, due to lack of knowledge, proper upbringing and regular guidance, corrupt social and financial influences and complicated life styles a overwhelming heedlessness has developed in us that makes this task practically very difficult. Especial effort and extensive reprogramming of mind is required.
To face these challenge the pious Sufi masters developed spiritual workouts. These are the Sufi forms of remembrance (dhikr), concentration techniques (muraqaba and ashgals) and repetition of various prayers, litanies or actions in certain specific ways. They are not the goal or objective in themselves. They are a means to create the determination, motivation and strength to implement Shariah rules at each and every moment of one’s life. It is futile for this reason to search for an explicit source from Quran and Hadith literature to approve of them. They are neither considered to be more rewarding nor superior to the acts mentioned in Quran and Sunna.
Moreover, it is unnecessary to discuss these issues in public. All of the spectators are focused on the performance of the athlete in the arena. None cares what type, how much or how extensive his routine workout was during his training? The serious athlete need to follow their coach’s recommendations. Sporadic following of such workouts by enthusiastic individuals is futile to bring about the desired results.
Meticulous following of Sunna and abstaining from all that is sinful (actions and thoughts) are the gold standard to measure an individual’s success in attaining the pleasure of Allah.
Million times repetition of the Supreme Name (Allah) with jahr o zarb or habs e dam, vigilant pas anfas, hours of muraqaba or months of khalwah, recitation of litanies, singing qasaid, etc are of no benefit in reality if the above mentioned gold standard is not achieved.
Wa ma taufiqi illa billah!
