Category Archives: J. Rights

The gold standard!

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Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘Perfect (kamil) and fully qualified (mukamal) individual is the one who is exactly following the footsteps of Allah’s approved Messenger (Muhammad, Allah bless him and grant him peace). His exterior appearance should be like the exterior appearance of the Messenger. And his inner condition (batin) must be like that of the inner condition of the  Messenger to.

That is, he should be following the Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) in every command and state (hal).’

Waaz: Tariq e qalander, Mawaiz e Hakim al-Ummat ra, page 246

Rockville, MD

صحبت شیخ

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فرمایا کہ اس طریق میں اصل چیز صحبت شیخ او رمحبت شیخ ہے ۔

 تعلیم وتلقین اس کے بغیر کا رگر نہیں ہوتی اور صحبت بلا تعلیم وتلقین کے بھی مفید ہوتی ہے.

پہلے بزرگوں کی عام عادت زیادہ تعلیم وتلقین کی نہ تھی، ان کی صحبت کی برکت ہی سے اصلاح ہو جاتی تھی ۔

غالباً حضرت مولانا محمد اسماعیل شہید نے منصب امامت میں لکھا ہے کہ بزرگوں کا فیض صحبت آفتاب کے مشابہ ہوتا ہے کہ اس کا فائدہ سب کو پہنچتا ہے، خواہ استفادہ کرنے والے کو اس کی خبر بھی نہ ہو اور قصد استفادہ کرے یا نہ کرے آفتاب کا فائدہ سب کو برابر ملتا ہے، اسی طرح خاص خاص بزرگوں کا فیض صحبت بھی ایسا ہی عام ہوتا ہے اور علامت ایسے بزرگوں کی یہ ہوتی ہے کہ ان کی وفات کے وقت عام قلوب میں ایک ظلمت وکدورت محسوس ہونے لگتی ہے۔

 حضرت نے فرمایا کہ اس کی تائید اس جملہ سے ہوتی ہے، جو صحابہ کرام نے رسول الله صلی الله علیہ وسلم کی وفات پر فرمایا تھا :” والله ما انفضنا ایدینا من التراب حتی انکرنا قلوبنا“

یعنی خدا کی قسم ! ہم نے رسول الله صلی الله علیہ وسلم کو دفن کرنے کے بعد اپنے ہاتھ بھی مٹھی سے نہیں جھاڑے تھے کہ ہمارے قلوب میں تغیرمحسوس ہونے لگا۔

فرمایا مشائخ کی صحبت میں رہنے والا ہر وقت اُس سے نفع حاصل کرتا رہتا ہے، خواہ اس کو نفع کا احساس اور استحضار ہو یا نہ ہو۔

مجالس حکیم الامت رح

Harms of being involved in non volitional issues!

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In regards to the effort of acquisition and elimination of non volitional things (umur e ghair ikhtiyariyah) Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘Failure by the aspirants to achieve this produces progressive frustration. The potential consequences of this frustration are:

1.  Physical illness may develop as a result of constant worry. This in turn results in the omission of many devotional practices.

2.  Frustration sometimes results in ill-temper. Others are then inconvenienced by one’s display of ill-manners.

3.  Overwhelming worry and frustration at times causes one to neglect the rights of one’s family as well as those of others. Such neglect becomes sinful.

4.  Sometimes this frustration reaches to such a level that the aspirant becomes hopeless and commits suicide. Thus, both his dunya and his here-after (aakhirah) are destroyed.

5.  Sometimes the frustration causes him to lose all hope  and he starts considering acts of obedience and righteousness to be useless. In consequence he ends all his righteous activities and his spiritual affairs reaches an abrupt halt.

6.  Sometimes he becomes disillusioned with his Shaikh, losing confidence in him. He then labors under the notion that his Shaikh is not aware of the Path of Sulook.

7.  Sometimes the frustration becomes so extreme that one becomes displeased with Allah that I am trying so hard and still I remain unsuccessful. There is no mercy and attention on me. He  then doubts and denies  Allah’s promises (of guiding whoever so wishes to be guided, etc.)

Al-Usool al-wusool, page 22

May Allah Ta’ala protect us from such a disastrous end. Amin!

Most frequent impediments in the path

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Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) wrote,

‘From the impediments of the path two are specially so prevalent that it is rare if any of the travelers has escaped not being involved in them. Even the learned scholars are involved in them.

One of them is striving to acquire some non volitional (ghair ikhtiyari) things. That are, things like engrossment, enthusiasm, intense & deep concentration, ecstasy, serenity, blocking of disturbing thoughts, burning desire, overwhelming attraction, emotional love, etc. It is assumed that these are the results of remembrance (dhikr), concentration exercises (shugal) and spiritual struggle (mujahidah). Moreover they consider themselves to be at loss when these things are not achieved.

The other impediment is striving to remove some non volitional (ghair ikhtiyari) thing. For example, spiritual constriction (qabd), overwhelming thoughts, not developing interest, love of an individual, innate love of wealth, sexual desires, excessive natural anger, not having softness of heart, not being able to cry, overwhelming worldly sorrow or fear, etc. It is assumed that theses things are detrimental for the path and are an impediment in achievement of the goal.’

Al-Usool al-wusool, page 20

Do Not Despise The Sinners

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Sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “That person who taunts and ridicules his Muslim brother over a sin from which he has repented, will not die until he himself commits that same sin.” For example, you come to know that a certain person committed or was involved in a particular sin and you also know that this person has repented from it. To think low of him or to taunt or ridicule him because of that sin, by saying something like: “You are the one who was involved in certain evil actions”, is in itself a sin.

Through repentance a person has corrected his relationship with Allah Most High. Through repentance not only has the sin been forgiven, it has also been erased from his book of deeds! Allah Most High has erased it from his book of deeds but you, because of that sin, are thinking low of him and treating him with contempt. You are taunting and ridiculing him. This action is extremely despised by Allah Most High.

Read more_ _ _ _ _ _

Source: Deoband.org

The adab

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Sahykh Abdul Ghani Nablusi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘The perfect etiquette (adab) with Allah is to worship Him as though you see Him.

And with all the creation the best etiquette is to give them in abundance whatever you want  from them.’

Takhlees Tarsi al-Jawahir al-Makkiya, via Ma’arif e Sufiya, page 236

Principles of tareeq

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Shaykh Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah have mercy on him) quotes from the book ‘Minhej al-A’amal’, that from the principles of the people of Tasawwuf are,

1.  Eating the lawful (halal)

2.  Having the beautiful manners (husun e khulq), and

3.  Avoiding the company of those who do not share the same goal as the salik (azdad/najins).

Tasawwuf wa nisbet o ihsan, via Ma’arif e Sufiya, page 301-3

Combating Immodesty on Internet

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A dear friend wrote,
‘I am sad to say that I have been involved in some very immodest activities (on the internet). I wish to repent from these activities through the mercy of Allah ta’ala. However, I wanted to ask a way through which to divert the mind from thinking about certain things, for example, if the mind is thinking about women etc., how do I force it stop and think about something else?

Also, how do I reverse the effects of the immodesty on me? I am sure the immodesty has had an effect on my mind as well as nafs, so how do I return back?

Answers to these questions will inshallah be very beneficial to me.

I appreciate all your help.’

The following reply was sent by Allah’s tawfiq,

‘Respected brother,

as salam o alaykum wrwb

JazakAllah for the email. It is reflective of your desire and yearning for Allah’s pleasure. May Allah increase it more with afiyet. Amin!

Life is full of ups and downs. It is very natural that in spite of all the care we sometimes slip and fall down. However, it is unnatural to keep lying down in the dirt. A normal person will get up. Brush away the dirt and move on. Staying down, not removing the dirt and not moving on is abnormal.

Thank Allah that He made you realize your mistake. Thank Him further that He allowed you to repent. Thank Him more that He put in your heart the desire to seek help to gain back His pleasure.

A very important thing that we all overlook is that in ikhteyari umoor there is no other way of achieving success except from using one’s determination (himmat) and will power. This must be coupled with supplication for Allah’s help.
To develop this determination we associate with the pious (ahlulAllah), listen and read their discourses, books and do the remembrance (zikr), etc.

I will again remind myself that there is no zikr, shugal, tawajjah, taweez or potion that will force me to abstain from sins. I will have to use my determination.

Please, do the following,
1. Inform your Shaykh explicitly of this thing in detail. This is essential, without it all measures will be futile. Shaykh will direct you to the most appropriate effective means for you in particular.

2. For the time being fix a penalty of 10 nafil rakats whenever you slip PLUS skipping the breakfast the following day. You can only take coffee or tea.

3. Use internet wisely. Keep a schedule. Use it in a public space. etc. If you can not do this then abandon using it completely for the time being.

4. Be very particular about your daily recitations (wird). No multitasking is allowed in performing them.

5. Manage your time well. Do not leave wide gaps for futile surfing, etc. Develop a hobby. People complain about Bahishti Zewar having all the recipes and methods of cooking and making various stuff. May be one of the purpose was to give individuals ideas to occupy themselves with some permissible activity.

6. If thoughts about the past return, make istegfar and immediately divert your attention towards something else. It is a trap of nafs and Shaytan to keep one ruminating about the past, becoming depressed and loosing hope. May Allah save us from them. Amin!

7. Feel free to communicate with this lowly writer as needed in this regards.

For undoing the effect of this, activity I remind my self of the similitude of burning my own finger in a flame intentionally. Even after removing it from the proximity of fire and applying medicine it takes days for the pain to go away and weeks and months for the scar to heal. This is true, especially, if I do not make the stupid mistake of burning the same finger again and again. If I continue doing this the nerve endings will be damaged permanently and the sensation of feeling pain will be lost for ever. Allah save us all from this!

Take care.
InshaAllah, everything will be fine, eventually.

muhtaj e dua’

Ijaza & khilafa

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Shaykh Shah Wasiullah (Allah have mercy on him) said,

The objective of imparting ijaza and khilafa by the Shuyukh is that the people may consider these individuals trustworthy and develop a good opinion about them in order to benefit from them in their reformation (islah). It is not meant by it that the the person who has recieved this ijaza and khilafa to consider himself fully accomplished (kamil) and become negligent of his own reformation and start being independent of the pious Elders (akabir).’

Tuhfa-tush-Shuyukh, page 37

Major sins (kabair)

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Shaykh Abu Taleb Makki (Allah have mercy on him) said that I complied the Prophetic sayings related to major sins and found out that there are 17 mentioned explicitly. They include,
Four related to heart,
1. Associating partners with Allah (shirk)
2. Intention of persisting on a sin
3. Being hopeless of Allah’s mercy
4. Being heedless of Allah’s wrath

Four related to tongue,
1. Bearing false witness
2. Allegation of adultery on innocent
3. Swearing falsely
4. Doing magic

Three related to stomach,
1. Drinking alcoholic beverages
2. Consuming the wealth of orphans
3. Taking unlawful tax/rent for agricultural land

Two related to genitalia,
1. Illicit sexual relations
2. Homosexuality

Two related to hands,
1. Killing someone unjustly
2. Stealing

One related to feet,
1. Fleeing from the battlefield in jihad

One related to the whole body,
1. Being disobedient to the parents

May Allah save us from all of these by His mercy. Amin!

Adab e Shaykh wal murid, page 16

Treatment of skepticism

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An aspirant wrote,

Respected Sir,
I have certain degree of skepticism in my personality. Listening to the criticism of the opponents greatly perturbs me. For this reason I only read your books. All praise is to Allah, whenever this kind of skepticism arises there is no effect on my acts of worship. However, the interest in worship that already existed is lost and I feel sad and depressed.  At the same time I dislike and hate these doubts and suspicions. But they persist. I feel as if I have become a hypocrite. Please, inform me how to get rid of this ailment.

Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
Do not read anything that will create doubts and suspicions.
If inadvertently you hear something of this category and this state (mentioned above) arises then there is no need to take any special measures to rectify it. This is because this effort will result in increasing distress and a permanent involvement (that is, seeking explanation & clarification) will afflict you. Therefore, instead of this effort ignore it actively. Do be bothered at all in spite of recurring random thoughts. However, continue making supplications and showing humility (to Allah).

Consider this to be enough.

InshaAllah, very soon the state (described) will be cleansed.

Once this habit is formed such power will develop in the heart that it will not be perturbed by such things.

This is a hikami (Divinely inspired wisdom) prescription. Bestowed  by Allah’s grace recently and is very significant information.

And all praise is for Allah!

Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 3, page 135

Salik’s Unlimited progress

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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

Burying the past and moving ahead

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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.