Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
“A seeker should never consider himself to have attained the goal (wasil). This is because in reality there is no end to this journey (sulook).”
‘Irfan e Hafiz, At-Takashuf, page 118
Responding to a disciple’s inquiry regarding which Shaykh’s weekly gathering (majlis) to attend in Jeddah, Hadhrat Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said,
“Shaykh Mansur Ali Khan is the most appropriate person for this.
He used to visit my father Hadhrat Mufti Mohammad Shafi’ (may Allah have mercy on him) very regularly in his youth. Afterwards he had a formal relationship for spiritual self-improvement (islah) with Shaykh Dr. Abdul-Hayy ‘Arifi (may Allah have mercy on him) for a very long duration.
Eventually he recieved permission (khilafah) to instruct spiritual aspirants from Shaykh Abrarul Haq (may Allah have mercy on him).”
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Shaykh Mansur has been residing in Jeddah for more than 25 years. His humility, gentleness and simplicity is amazing and truly reflective of Ashrafiya shuyukh. He has two weekly gatherings at his residence in Rehab district. One is on friday after juma’h salah regarding the blessed Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). Recitation of khatam e khawjagan is also done in it. The other is on sundays after isha prayers, the main topic of discussion is self-reformation (islah).
Hadhrat Asma (may Allah be pleased with her) said to her daughter at the time of her marriage:
“You are going to spend such a life where you shall have to live long and you are going to the bed of such a person who you have no acquaintance. You are going to love one with whom you had no love before.
Make for him such a world, which will be heaven for you, prepare for him such a bed, which will be a pillar for you.
Be such a slave for him that he may become your slave.
Don’t go willingly to him, lest you become to him an object of hatred.
Don’t remain far from him, lest he may forget you. When he remains near you, be near him, when he stays distant from you save your nose, ears and eyes.
Let him not get from you except sweet smiles. Let him not hear from you except sweet words. Let him not see in you except beauty”
Ihya Uloom Din
Source: Excellent Blog: Mujahidah an Nafs
Sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said,
“In unfavorable conditions the Ummah is facing these days most of us usually waste time discussing, reading or listening to the news and commentaries about the current affairs.
We forget the most important thing to do.
That is, to turn to Allah.
It is for sure that these adverse conditions are the effects of our own wrong doings. Hence, the best recourse is to accept our short comings, repent, make a strong determination to act correctly now onwards and ask Allah for His mercy, help and guidance in doing so. Admit our feebleness and lack of courage to deal with these hardships and request them to be safely removed from us.”
Hadhrat Hakim la-Umma hadhrat Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
“Ponder prior to correcting a fellow Muslim that if my child had been in this situarion how would I deal with him. Then adpot the same demeanor in delaing with this fellow Muslim that you would have used for your child.”
al-Rafeeq fi sawa e tariq, Malfoozat e Hakim al-Umma, volume 27-28, page 13
Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) reprimanded a murid,
“Stay away from all religious polemics.
Focus on the religious matters mutually agreed upon. These issues outnumber the ones that are disagreed upon.
There is no benefit in addressing the disputed issues, especially for the common lay individual. Discussing such issues is a total waste of time for him.
Only at an individual level if someone sincerely and for practical reasons wants to know the truth regarding these issues guide him to a reliable scholar or scholarly work.”
Hadhrat Mansur Ali Khan (may Allah preserve him) narrates that,
‘Arif-billah Hadhrat Dr. Abdul-Hayy ‘Arifi (may Allah have mercy on him) used to tell his mojazeen (those to whom he gave permission to take baya ‘and train murid) very firmly that until and unless they have an internal overwhelming yearning to take someone as a murid they should not take baya.
Similarly, without this intense inner desire to tell others about the spiritual path (tareeq) they should not open their mouth to give a speech. They should wait for their spiritual puberty and maturity.”
Hadhrat Mansur Ali Khan (may Allah preserve him) narrates that
Do these things before embarking on any new or significant endeavor, inshaAllah, you will be successful. Firstly, ask Allah for help and ease in initiating and completing it. Then pray that it is done with sincerity (ikhlas) and truthfulness (sidq). And finally pray that it is accepted by Allah.”
Hadhrat Shaykh Masihullah Khan (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
“Never consider sin to be small. Regard sin as great. He who thinks slightly of sin has considered Allah to be insignificant.”
The Path to Perfection, page 128
Hakim al-Umma Hadhrat Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
“Being influenced by worldly benefits in matter of religion (deen) is a sign of spiritual weakness. Religion is of utmost importance. It should be preserved. One should ignore all worldly benefits, even to the extent of annihilation of the Universe, in upholding it.”
Malfuzat, al-Ifazat al-yomiya min al-ifadat al-qomiya, volume 3, page 389
حکیم الامت حضرت مولانا اشرف علی تھانوی قدس سرہ نے فرمایا،
” دین میں دنیوی مصالح سے متاءثرہونا سب کمزوری کی باتیں ہیں۔
بڑی چیز دین ہے۔ یہ محفوظ رہے،
خواہ تمام مصالح بلکہ سارا عالم فنا ہو جاۓ کچھ پرواہ نہیں۔”
ملفوظات الافاضات الیومیۃ من الافادات القومیۃ، ج 2، ص389،م 640
Shaykh al-Hadith Hadhrat Mawlana Zakariya Kandhelawi (may Allah have mercy on him) inquired about Hakim al-Umma Hadhrat Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi’s (may Allah snctify his secret) Ramadan schedule.
Hadhrat Hakim al-Umma replied,
“The routine habits and actions which we are commanded to follow and implement in our lives are those of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace).
The habits of any ‘Ummati’ are not obligatory to follow. In fact this practice of recording and gathering them can from certain points of view be detrimental. Therefore, to actively search for them is not advisable.
In gathering them and noting them down, there is a potential drawback. One of two things may happen. The deeds of the reader may be in excess or be less than that of the Shaykh. If his deeds are more than that of the Shaykh, he may be discouraged from increasing his acts of righteousness. He may reason that if the acts of this Shaykh are so few – fewer than mine – why should I toil and burden myself to do so much? And if the reader’s acts are less than that of the Shaykh, it is possible that he will be discouraged (loosing the enthusiasm for doing more considering his present efforts to be negligent).”
Sayyedina Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be on him) delivered a Khutbah on the last day of Sh’aban saying:
“O people: You are about to enter the shadow of a great blessed month.
A night therein is better than a thousand months.
Allah made fasting during this month an obligation and encouraged people to perform extra prayers during its nights.
Seeking nearness to Allah through a good deed would be considered like performing an obligatory act of worship.
In turn, performance of an obligatory act of worship during this month would be rewarded seventy times more than during any other month.
It is the month of patience, and the reward for patience is Jannah.
It is the month of comforting others, and the month during which believers would enjoy plentifulness.
The Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be on him) went on to say:” Make sure you frequently do four things, two of which would please your Lord and the other two are indispensable for your salvation in the Hereafter.
As for the two things that would please your Lord, they are: testifying to the oneness of Allah and seeking repentance.
And the other two are: asking Allah the favor of entering Jannah and seeking refuge in Him from the Hell Fire.”
(Ibn Khuzaima)
O Allah! Please, give us all the blessings of this month.
We acknowledge that we don’t deserve them, but we are, for sure, in need of them indeed.
Please, ignore our faults. With Your infinite mercy bless us with all the good it contains.
Overall make it a means for us in achieving Your love and Your beloved’s (Allah’s blessing and peace be on him).
Ameen!
A senior murid wrote,
“How should I treat any negligence in my daily wird (ma’molat) and delay in writing to you a letter (regarding my current spiritual state)?”
Hadhrat Mufti Rasheed Ahmad Ludhyanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) replied,
“For being negligent in any wird pray two units (raka’h) of nafil salah and for delay in writing a letter fast for a day (as a penance).”
Sayyidi wa murshidi, page 138
P.S. Writing a letter/email to the Shaykh is essnetial in Ashrafiya tariq. Hadhrat Sayyidi wa sandi Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) recommends to write a letter regularly, atleast once a month.
Hadhrat Mawlana Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said,
“One should clearly distinguish between the Islamic teachings and the general practice of the Muslims. Unfortunately, we are living in an age where the vast majority of the Muslims are not aware of the noble teachings of Islam nor do they practice them in their day-to-day lives. Instead, they are mostly influenced by the different cultures in which they are/have been living. Therefore, everything the Muslims practice cannot be attributed to Islam. When one evaluates the virtues of Islam, he should not refer to the practice of the Muslims of today; rather he should turn to the principles laid down in the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah. Obviously, if the Muslims have abandoned the guidance of the Shari’ah, it cannot be seen as a defect in the Shari’ah itself. It is a defect in those who have deprived themselves of this Divine Guidance.”
From: Pearls of Elders