Category Archives: N. Advice

Beaware of Nafs

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Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Shah Ashraf Ali Thanwi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

“Always remember this tip.
Never ever provide any occasion or means for your inner-self (nafs) to misbehave.

This is a an essential thing that is being told.

This inner-self (nafs) is the enemy that has ruined the zuhud (asceticism), taqwa( God-fearing) and piety of high-ranking individuals in few moments.
Never consider it to be dead. Sometimes due to unavailability of resources it is hidden (acting dead). But it is lurking for an occasion or a means to act (and attack).”

Sawanih wa ta’lemat e Hazrat Arifi ra pg 382

Keeping the heart occupied!

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

“The quarters of the heart should not be left vacant.

If they are not occupied with Allah’s remembrance(dhikr) fill them with something else that is permissible (mubah).

Otherwise, seeing them vacant Satan will move into them and take hold (of the heart).”

Waaz: Arza al-Haqq, Khutbat e Hakim al-Ummat, volume 15, page95

Innovation

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

“An innovation (bid’ah ) is to introduce something which has no basis in Shariah (Divine law) into the religion (deen) regarding it to be (an integral) part of religion and to act upon it with the hope of reward.

Indulgence in an innovation is a major sin.”

Behishiti Zewar

Secret of Repetition

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

“Reading or discussing something repeatedly usually results in recalling it when its need arises.

At that moment one needs spiritual determination to act according to it.

Doing such for some time eventually leads to the creation of an instinctive inclination for acting so without effort.”

Malfoozar e Arifi 167

Spiritually beneficial topics?

Hadhrat Mawlana Wasiullah, one of the special khulafa of Hakim Al-Umma (may Allah have mercy on them) points out,

“In our times it will not be of much benefit to speak only about the the higher spiritual states (ahwal) and exalted mystical stations (maqamat).

It will be more beneficial to elucidate on the spiritual ailments (razail) the general public and elite are afflicted with and direct them towards the treatment.”

Hayat Muslih al-Ummat ra, page 5

Outcome of tazkiyah:Excellence in speech and character

Masih al-quloob Mawlana Masihullah Khan (may Allah have mercy on him) instructed,

“The acquisition of praiseworthy moral traits with yearning and loss of blameworthy charactersitics with aversion will manifest as attainment of excellence in speech and character.

Excellence in speech (husne-kalam) is defined as using words that are polite, decent and said in a gentle tone.

And excellence in character (husne-khulq) is to have forbearance (hilm). 

So whenever something happens against your desires and upsets you, with this forbearance condone it using excellent speech (husne-kalam). As Allah says in the Qur’an,

و اذا سمعو اللغو اعرضو عنه

“Whenever you hear such useless talk, then let it pass.”

Tazkira Hadhrat Masih al-Ummat, wasiyetnama, page 119

Never be negligent

The very first advice sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) gave to a murid while giving him permission to instruct others,

“Never be negligent of your own self’s reformation (islah) effort.”

Hedayat bara-ay mujazeen

That is, the first and foremost in importance is my own self-reformation. Do not be missed led by Shaytan and nafs that I have graduated and now my primary concern is to do reformation of others.

This is a very common mistake.

Readers of the biographies of piously elders are well aware of the fact that how deligent they were in keeping their own self on tract. At the slightests indication of a slip they would jump and make amendments.

May Allah give us the tawfiq to do this also. Amin!

Manhattan, New York

TV & VCR/DVD

Giving instructions to a newly appointed mujaz Hadhrat Dr. Ismail Memon (may Allah preserve him) said,

‘In the Prophetic sayings ingestion of intoxicating beverages has been pointed out to be the source of all the sins (umm al-khabayis), similar is the status of viewing television and video cassette recordings (VCR and these days DVDs). They are the root cause of most of the immoral actions (abb ul-munkerat).

Refrain from them completely.

Many individuals fail intellectually to recognize the evil effects of these things.

Even if one does not understand, it is essential to abstain from them.”

Maqalat wa shuzrat, Mawlana Yusuf Ludhyanawi shaheed (may Allah have mercy on him), page 8

Wife!

Masih al-Quloob Mawlana MasihUllah Khan (may Allah Have mercy on him) said,

“Wife is most the unpredictable relative.  A parent or a child, both of whom are closely related, will draw a line in their attitude and behaviour. But a wife draws no lines. She has no regard for any etiquette. Therefore, no matter what her attitude, no matter what words she utters, no matter what unbecoming language she uses, do not take offence. ”

For the friends

Recitation for the removal of hardship!

An individual informed of the hardships he was facing. He was afraid of losing his means of sustenance and professional integrity.

‘Arif-billahHadhrat Dr. Abdul Hayy ‘Arifi (may Allah have mercy on him) instructed him to recite the following 200 times daily after ‘eisha salah pre- and post-ceded by salutations (durood) on the Holy Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him) 11 times,

لا حول ولاقوة إلا بالله

(There is no power or strength except with Allah)

Islahi khutoot.

It is most beneficial to contemplate on the meanings of it during the recitation.

والدین کے حقوق اورایصال ثواب

عارف باللہ حضرت ڈاکٹر عبدالحئی عارفی رحمۃ اللہ علیہ نے فرمایا،

‘ہم پر اللہ تعالی نے اپنے حقوق کے بعد والدین کے حقوق واجب فرماۓ ہیں۔ انہوں نے پالا پرورش کی، دعائیں کیں، راحت پہنچائی اور جب تک تم بالغ نہیں ہۓ تمہارے کفیل رہے۔

اور جب تم بالغ ہوۓ تو تم نے ان کی کیا خدمت کی ہوگی؟

دیکھو جتنا سرمایا ہے اپنے زندگی بھر کے اعمال حسنہ کا اور طاعات نافلہ کا سب نذر کر دو اپنے والدین کو، ان کا بہت بڑا حق ہے، کیونکہ والدین کو اللہ تعالی نے مظہر ربوبیت بنایا ہے۔ اس عمل خیر کا ثواب تمہیں بھی اتنا ملے گا جتنا دے رہے ہو، بلکہ اس سے بھی زیادہ کیونکہ یہ تمہارا ایثار ہے اور اس کا بہت بڑا ثواب ہے۔

میں تو اپنی ساری عمر کی تمام عبادات و طاعات نافلہ اور اعمال خیر اپنے والدین کی روح پر بخش دیتا ہوں اور سمجھتا ہوں کہ اب بھی حق ادا نہیں ہوا۔ اللہ تعالی اپنی رحمت واسعہ سے قبول فرمالیں۔

(رمضان المبارک کے انوار و برکات، ص 14)

Becoming a murid?

A sister asked,

“Can I become a murida of Shaikh Hazrat Taqi Usmani sahib? I was previously a murida of Shaikh Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi (may Allah have mercy on him) from India.”

All praise is to Allah, as per the teachings of sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) following reply was sent,

‘It is a great blessing of Allah that you are a muridah of Hadhrat Ali mian (may Allah have mercy on him).

I pray and hope that you are continuing with what Hadhrat told you to do, such as remembrance(tasbihat, dhikr), recitation of Holy Quran (tilawat), reading (mutala’), etc.

As a basic rule, it is most beneficial that after the passing away of his Shaykh the murid associates with Shaykh’s senior representatives (khulafa) to continue the journey on the same track without any interruptions.

However, if due to unavoidable circumstances you can not contact any of those khulafa then you can correspond with sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) for self-reformation (islah) and bayiat.

Focus on sincerity

Instructing a former student who is now responsible for a darul uloom in NWFP, sayyidi wa sanadiHadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said,

“Keep in mind that the real objective is to gain Allah’s pleasure.  Absolute sincerity is required for this.

Refrain from asking donations individually.

In our institute there is no mechanism to advertise, send representatives or contact wealthy individuals for donations. All praise is to Allah, even then all the matters are being carried out effectively.”

Ramadhan 1429

The two most prevalent sins!

Sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah grant him a long, healthy and fruitful life) said,

“To preserve the benefits gained in Ramadhan abstain from sins. The two most common sins in which most of the people are involved in these days are,

1. Inappropriate use of eyes. That is, seeing unlawful things.

2. Backbiting. That is speaking of others in such a manner that if they came to know about it they will be upset. Even if the content is truth.

Make a concious effort to control yourself.”

Ramadhan bayan 1429, Darul Uloom Karachi