Mawlana Masihullah Khan (may Allah have mercy on him) instructed,
“A murid should not conceal any thing from his Shaykh. If he hides even the slightest of his condition (states or actions) from his Shaykh, then indeed, he has neglected the right of companionship (suhba).”
The Path to Perfection
Shaykh Mansur ‘Ali Khan (khalifa of Shah Abrarul Haqqرحمه الله تعالى ) instructed a young mujaz of our silsilah,
“We have to retrace the footsteps of our mashykh, like Arif billah Dr Abdul Hayy Arifi and Mawlana Shah Abrarul Haqq (may Allah have mercy on them). Remeber, how simple was their life-style. There were no signs of pretentiousness for being a pious person (buzurg). They openly told whoever came to them that if you want to become a buzurg go somewhere esle, stay here only if you want to become a decent Muslim.”
Jeddah, MC-1,11/8, 6th June 2008
حکیم الامت مجدد الملت حضرت مولانا شاہ اشرف علی تھانوی رحمہ اللہ فرماتے تھے کہ،
اس اجازت کی نظیر ایسی ہے جیسے علوم درسیہ میں جو سند دی جاتی ہے۔
اسی طرح جو کسی کو بیعت کی اجازت دی جاتی ہے اس کا یہ مطلب نہیں ہوتا کہ فی الحال ہی اس کو ان اوصاف میں کمال کا درجہ حاصل ہوگیا ہے۔
Shaykh Buzaydi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote,
“When a seeker takes a perfect Shaykh, it is proper manner (adab) not to turn to any other Shaykh, no matter who he may be. If he does turn to someone else then he will never benefit, nor will he ever gain anything even if he takes on a thousand perfected Shaykh, due to his lack of sincerity and trueness.”
The adab of the true seeker, page 64
This is the reason why Ashrafiya stresses so much on being 100% sure before you commit and make baya’.
This is not to be taken lightly.
Before you commit,
Do research.
Visit many Shuykuh.
Communicate with them both in public and private.
Make lot of supplication.
Consult the spiritually mature and more knowledgeable.
Make istikhara.
Then only commit.
Related posts
The blessed Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be on him) said,
“To be alone is better than bad company, but good company is better than being alone.”
From: an-Noor
Serenity of heart (jamiat e qalb) is very much valued thing in this path. Try your best to safe guard it. Anything; an article or a comment, an image, a thought or speech if it disturbs your heart’s serenity it is detrimental for your sulook.
The seeker must show his hidden diseases to the Shaykh, and disclose to him their reality so that he can cure them.
If the seeker has diseases and does not show them, openly or secretly, to his Shaykh, then the latter will not cure him of these diseases, even if he is aware of them. The reason for this is that a physician only treats about which the patient complains.
Having said that, none of the defects of the seeker is lost on the Shaykh, even though he only treats that which the seeker reveals.
The Adab of the True Seeker, page 29-30
This is one of the reasons why regular communication with the Shaykh is essential. The seeker informs him of the various real life incidents and scenarios where a moral disease is suspected to have played a role. Shaykh then makes the diagnosis and prescribes a treatment. This is the reality of the written self-reformation correspondence (islahi makatabet) between the murid and the Shaykh is Ashrafiya path.
A seeker asked if sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) accepts request for baya’.
Following is the response,
Hadhrat (may Allah allow us to benefit from him abundantly) usually does not take baya’ from anyone up front.
It is only when he feels that the seeker has recognized the true meaning of this commitment then he does so. For some this duration is in months for others it may be longer. For example, an individual waited 4 years and his wife 14 years before the ritual of allegiance (baya’) took place.
In the mean duration one is supposed to do what is being told and provide regular feedback. This is the reality of baya’.
A sincere seeker requested to know what are the virtues that a Shaykh looks for in a murid before accepting baya’.
As per the teachings of sayyid wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) following reply was given,
In our path (tariq) the qualities a Shaykh looks for in a potential murid are his yearning and desire to gain Allah’s pleasure, readiness for annihilation of self-suggestions/opinions and enthusiasm for following the instructions given to him.
حضرت حکیم الامت مولانا اشرف علی تھانوی قدس اللہ سرہ
Imam Abdul Wahab al-Sha’rani (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
“My master ‘Ali al-Mursifi, may Allah have mercy on him, used to say: One of the signs of the novice’s (murid’s) wretchedness in this world and in the next is his taking lightly the Shaykh’s anger with him and not contemplating the urgency of hastening to make up with him and bringing himself under the banner of his obedience. Some people took lightly their Shaykh’s anger with them and they never succeeded after that: neither at the hands of their Shaykh nor at the hands of anyone else.”
Al-Minan al-Kubra
P.S. Two books of Imam al-Sha’rani are included in the Curriculum of Tasawwuf recommended to the seeker’s by Hakim al-Umma (may Allah have mercy on them).
The Grand Mufti of Pakistan Hadhrat Mufti Mohammad Shafi’ (may Allah have mercy on him) used to say that,
“People complain that we can not find good company. If you can not ‘find’ good company then go and sit with the prayer-caller (muadhin) in your local mosque. This muadhin has definitely been blessed with one good quality. And that is that he prays all his daily prayers (salah).”
From:In Shaykh’s Company
Sayyid wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said,
“The real task is to abstain from all sins!
“Most of the people select and perform the easy stuff. They initiate a relationship with a Shaykh, develop a routine of praying predawn prayers (tahajjud), perform excessive remembrance (dhikr), and recite Quran daily. However, they do not leave the sinful activities.
Remember this clearly, abundance of supererogatory (nafil) actions is of no advantage without abstaining from sinful activities. Whereas, persistence on the obligatory (fardh) and necessary (wajib) actions are quite enough without any extra (nafil) thing if one stays away from sins completely.”
Waaz, post ‘Asr, Masjid Baitul Mukkaram, Jummah, 30 November ’90, 11 Jamadi us sani 1411
Hadhrat Mawlana Abdul-Ghani Phulpuri (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
“Once Hadhrat Haji (Imdadullah) mohajir Makki told my blessed Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on them), ‘Dearest Ashraf Ali! Even when I am talking to others you should remain attentive towards my heart (qalb) aspiring for spiritual benefit (faiz). Do not think that when I am busy talking to others my heart becomes idle (ghafil). Even during these convesations my heart is busy with Allah most High.”
Ma’arifat e Illahiya, page364
Regarding the practice of reciting the spiritual lineage (shajara) Hakim al-Umma Hadhrat Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
“The reality of reading the shajara is making supplication (dua) through a means (tawassul). And supplication is a form of remembrance (dhikr). (Hence, reading the shajara will also be included in dhikr).
The meaning of tawassul is, O Allah! Have mercy on us due to (the status of) XYZ-pious person.”
waaz: Akbar al-‘amaal, page 5-8
