Category Archives: N. Advice

Improving salah

Shaikh Haji Shakeel Ahmed (Allah preserve him) said,

‘A very senior pious individual instructed me that if I was seriously interested in becoming religious than I should be vigilant about improving my salah. That is, praying salah as per Sunna with contemplation that Allah is watching me. He added that if I did not do this than in spite of praying punctually I will be simultaneously doing all the undesirable worldly stuff.

Haji sahib instructed to those present to not to take this lightly. Improving salah should be our topmost priority.

Moreover, he emphasized reading the booklet ‘Namazain Sunnat kay mutabeq parhyay’ by sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) carefully and meticulously implementing each and every step as instructed. ’

11/8, MC1, KKNGH, Jeddah, 02 June 2012,  after esha

Dai’i

Shaikh Haji Shakeel Ahmed (Allah preserve him) said,

‘We must be compassionate in calling others to the Islamic ways.

We should address ourselves first and then the others.

Please, remember the principle that a dai’i (one who invites others) never insults, criticizes, denigrates, humiliates or mocks the audience.’

Jeddah, al-Azizia 30th May 2012, bayan after maghrib

Reminder: Allah is watching me!

Shaikh Haji Shakeel Ahmed (Allah preserve him) said,

‘Develop the habit of reminding yourself every now and then that Allah is watching me.  Say in an audible voice ‘Allah! Allah! Allah!’.

It is to firmly establish and cultivate this state that Allah made it essential (wajib) for us to visit His house (masjid) five times a day and practice it in salah.

We should strife to establish this in our daily life. An easy way is to set a reminder in our mobile phone that alerts us every 15 minutes that Allah is watching me.’

Jeddah, al-Azizia 30th May 2012, bayan after maghrib

Maintain wudhu

Shaikh Haji Shakeel Ahmed (Allah preserve him) said,

The trustworthy and truthful messenger of Allah Prophet Mohammed (Allah bless him and grant him peace) told us that wudhu is a weapon of a believer.

In reality it is a spiritual hidden armament against the ploys of lower self (nafs) and Satan.

We should be vigilant in maintaining it.

Unhealthy habit of chewing pan, smoking cigarettes and drinking carbonated drinks makes it difficult to maintain wudhu most of the time. We should abandon them.

Moreover, the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) himself stayed in the state of wudhu most of the time. We should emulate his blessed sunna.’

Jeddah, al-Azizia 30th May 2012, bayan after maghrib

Shrewd & peaceful

Enumerating the qualities required for a mureed Shaikh Najamuddin Kubra (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘He must be shrewd. Traversing this path requires cleverness and dexterity. This is to deal with perils that he will face in this journey.

He must keep peace with all the creation of Allah and only battle with his own lower self (nafs).’

Mirsad al-Abad, page 169

تلك خیالات تربی بھا اطفال الطریقہ

The ‘wali-tarash‘ Shaikh Najamuddin Kubra (Allah have mercy on him) writes,

‘In front of Khawajah Imam Yusuf al-Hamdani (Allah have mercy on him) an individual mentioned with astonishment that I was in the company of Shaikh Ahmad al-Ghazali (Allah have mercy on him) eating with other brethren. All of a sudden the respected Shaikh passed away (from the physical realm). Few seconds later when he gained consciousness he said, ‘At that time I observed that the Messenger of Allah (Prophet Muhammad, Allah bless him and give him peace) is placing food in my mouth by his own blessed hand.’

Shaikh Khawajah Yusuf Hamdani (Allah have mercy on him) listened and replied,

تلك خیالات تربی بھا اطفال الطریقہ

These are thoughts by which the infants of this path (tariqat) are nurtured.’

Mirsad al Abad, page 193-4

Stop watering it!

In Mathnawi Mawlana Jalal uddin Rumi (Allah have mercy on him) gives an excellent example to encourage us to give up all that is sinful right now.

The sinful desires are like seeds of a humongous, foul smelling, full of thorns and fruitless tree. If one follows them and commits the sin it is like watering the seed. It germinates and grows in the middle of a path. If one continues to follow his desires the seedling gets nutrition. It becomes a sapling and eventually a tree.

The leaves, branches and roots spread.  And the tree is firmly ‘rooted’.

Being in the middle of a path it is a major obstacle.

Removing it now is not easy. It requires special equipment and expertise.

It  would have been very easy to remove the seedling.The  roots sink deep in to the ground. They engulf or entrap the things around making the removal even more difficult and messy.

Similarly, by giving into sinful desires we nurtures the lower self (nafs) and it becomes stronger each day. We may fool himself ourselves with lame excuses, like it is lesser of the two evils, or it is a norm to do these things nowadays, or it is a phase it will pass, or I will give it up after I graduate or get married or have children, etc.

We procrastinate.

With each passing day the tree of sinful desires (nafs) grows strong, whereas as the sinful individual gets older, loosing the mental sharpness, the emotional vigor and the physical strength as part of the natural aging process..

We have to be wise and not delay.  It is easier to give up sins right now.

What to do in free time?

A seeker informed sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) about the extra time he had available daily and requested for advice on how to utilize it appropriately.

Sayyidi wa sanadi said,

‘Do two things in this time.

Firstly, perform excessive remembrance of Allah.

On request for further elaboration on what specific form of remembrance would be appropriate for him.  Sayyidi said,

‘Perform the ‘dowazdah tasbih‘. And if you already do this in morning (as the usual daily routine prescribed for seekers) then repeat it again in this spare time.’

The second thing to do is to read the biographies of the pious predecessors meticulously. High light and mark the beneficial passages for future review.

Start with the Sawanih e Qasimi of Shaikh Mawlana Qasim Nanotawi  written by Professor Mawalan Anwarul Hasan Sheirkoti (Allah have mercy on them) if you can get hold of it. It is difficult to keep focused in the one written by Mawlana Manazir Hasan Gillani (Allah have mercy on him).  Then read Tazkirat ur Raheed, Tazkirat ul Khalil,  Ashraf us sawanih and Arwah e salasa.’

Holiday Inn Salam, Jeddah, 15th May 2012, after esha

Perfection?

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

‘Torch your desires!

Burn your opinions!

Adopt absolute annihilation. And consign your affairs to Allah completely.

Try your best to please Allah.

Who are you to aspire for perfection?

I swear by Allah. If an individual is aware of his own reality than all claims of aspiring self perfection would collapse and flee from his mind.’

Waaz: al Wael wal Fazel, Khutbat e Hakim al Ummat ra, volume 15, page 204

Tips for personal finances

Shaikh Shah Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah have mercy on him) mentioned few principles regarding effectively balancing the personal finance,

‘First Principle:

Save some amount from your income irrespective of how low your earnings may be. The individual who spends more than his earning is stupid.

Second Principle:

Buy the essential goods in cash. Do not stay in debt.

Third Principle;

Do not spend the entire cash in hand on expectation of future earnings. This is because of futility of relying on something that is not present or guaranteed. The person who spends on expectations of future earnings becomes involved in debt and poverty.

Fourth Principle:

Protect your earnings from being wasted.  It will neither benefit you nor others.

Fifth Principle:

Be responsible for your (financial) affairs yourself. (That is, do not delegate it to others).

Sixth Principle;

Do not buy anything you do not need even if you are getting it at low price. This is because, a useless thing even if it is free is a liability.

Seventh Principle:

Plan for the future. Make sure you are prepared financially if there was any crisis.’

Tazkirah e Muslih al Ummat, page, 226-7

Wasting time

Arif billah Dr. Abdul Hayy Arifi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘Wasting time in the hobby of reading newspaper & unimportant books, attending ceremonious gatherings,  or participating in useless entertainments results in failure to accomplish the essential things to be done. This (eventually) creates commotion and anxiety in one’s mind.’

Talemaat e Arifi ki roshini mein: Islah e haal aur Sukoon e qalb, page 41

Proximity of Allah

‘Arif-billah Dr Abdul Hayy ‘Arifi (Allah Have mercy on him) said,

‘People wrongly assume that by observance of excessive worship, like supererogatory salah, excessive remembrance or recitation of Holy Quran,  they will gain pleasure and proximity of Allah.

In our everyday life the pleasure and proximity of Allah is obtained by being patient and responding with humility and good character when unexpected comes from those who are dear and near.

The real examination is when the curt comments and the sarcastic attitude of friends and family break your heart or make your blood boil.

Being patient, controlling one’s anger and responding with humility and good character will make you move closer to pleasure of Allah.

Only an individual who is cognizant that he/she will be accountable before Allah for his/her actions can do this.

This is taqwa.’

Audio:Mp3 CD # 2

Time management tip

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

‘Time can only be managed effectively by doing everything as scheduled and not being overwhelmed by indulgent kind and polite behavior (ikhlaq & murawwat).’

Ashraf us Sawanih as quoted in Zaad us Salikeen, page 757

That is, not following one’s schedule by trying to please and fulfill the non-urgent impositions of family, friends and others.

Sometimes overwhelming humility, politeness and kindness leads to this entrapment. (How insignificant I am? And how worthless my schedule is, as compared to pleasing a fellow Muslim?)

Shaikh al Hadith’s autograph

Shaikh al Hadith Mawalna Zakariya Kandehlavi mohajir Madani was requested for an autograph by Shaikh Jameel Ahmad Hyderabadi (Allah have mercy on them).

Shaikh al Hadith inquired, ‘What is an autograph?’

It was explained that it would be an advice written by his blessed pen (in the autograph book).

Instantaneously he wrote;

Translation:

Be in intimate contact (with the Divine) inwardly and appear aloof outwardly.

(Heed) This beautiful characteristic is scarce in this world!

Tazkirat al Jameel, page 483