Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah presrve him) writes,
Abdullah ibn Musa, (Allah be pleased with him), reports that the Holy Prophet, (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him), preferred the fast of ‘Ashura’ (10th Muharram) on the fasts of other days and preferred the fasts of Ramadhaan on the fast of ‘Ashura’. (Bukhari and Muslim)
Our master Shahr bin Jaushab (Allah be pleased with him) says:
“I asked Umme Salma (The Mother of the Believers, Allah be pleased with her) ‘What was the supplication (dua) most often made by the Prophet of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in his house?’
She replied that Prophet of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to recite,
O the Controller of hearts! Make my heart firm on Your Deen.
(Tirmizi)
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,
The first ten days of Zulhijjah are among the most magnificent days in Islamic calendar.
The Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said,
“One fast during these days is equal to the fasting of one complete year, and the worship of one night during this period is equal to the worship in the “Lailatul-Qadr“.
Every Muslim should avail of this wonderful opportunity by performing during this period as much Iba’dah (acts of worship) to Allah as he or she can.
Islamic months
The blessed Companion Abu Huraira(Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: Allah created His creation and when He finished it, the womb said: This is the place for him who seeks Your refuge from severing blood relationship.
He said: Yes. Are you not satisfied that I should keep relationship with one who joins your ties (of relationship) and sever it with one who sever your ties.
It said: Yes, O my Lord!
He said: That is done for you.
Allah’s Messenger (Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him) said: Recite, if you wish, this verse:
”Would you then, if you were given the authority, do mischief in the land and sever your ties of kinship? Those it is whom Allah has cursed, so He has made them deaf and blinded their eyes. Do they not reflect on the Qur’an? Or, are there locks on their hearts?”.” (47:22)
(Bukhari and Muslim)
Our Mother A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported Allah’s Messenger (Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him) as saying: The tie of kinship is suspended to the Throne and says: He who unites me Allah would unite him and he who severed me Allah would sever him.
(Sahih Muslim)
Hakim ul Umma Shaykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said:
“My (that is, the Shaykh’s) primary responsibility is to cultivate the desired moral characteristics in a murid (i.e. thankfulness, patience, love of Allah SWT and His messenger, humility, khushoo, fear, etc.) and not the rectification of his (outwards) actions (a’mal).
This is so because, once these moral characteristics are successfully developed the outward actions are rectified automatically.”
Aspirant/Salik needs to understand and assimilate this principle very clearly upfront.
Maasir e Hakeemul Ummat ra 163
Bridgeport, WV
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
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘The real criteria for being pious (buzurg) is that as one progresses in spirituality the more he resembles the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).
This is because the friendship of Allah (wilayet) is a derivative of the Prophethood (nubuwat).’
al-Rafiq fi suwa it-Tareeq, Malfuzat e Hakim al-Ummat volume 27-28, page 89
Shaykh Mawlana Mohammad Yaqub Nanotawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘The accepted path is rooted in the following of Sunna.
This following is in obvious and esoteric affairs, beliefs and actions.
The reality of following the Sunna in our era is avoidance of innovations and traditional rituals (rusoom).’
Maktubat e Yaqubi ra, page 11
Following is an extract from the supplications of our master, the mercy to the Universe Prophet Mohammad (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him). It is very much reflective of his slavehood (abdiyet).
اللهم إنك تسمع كلامي
وترى مكاني وتعلم سري وعلانيتي
لا يخفى عليك شيء من أمري و
أنا البائس الفقير
المستغيث المستجير , الوجل المشفق
المقر المعترف بذنبه
أسألك مسألة المسكين
وأبتهل إليك ابتهال المذنب الذليل
وأدعوك دعاء الخائف الضرير
دعاء منخضعت لك رقبته
وذل لك جسمه , ورغم لك أنفه
O Allah! You hear my speech and behold my situation.
You know my secret and open matters.
None of my affairs is concealed from You!
And I am the miserable, needy, suppliant, succor seeking,
fearful and anxious person who confesses and recognizes his sins.
I beg you – the begging of a destitute.
I implore you – the imploring of an abased sinner.
And I make dua to You – the dua of the fearful afflicted person,
whose neck is bowed down before You,
whose eyes pour out tears before You,
whose body is humbled before You and
whose nose touches the ground for You repeatedly.
(Munajat-e-Maqbul, manzil #3 (Monday) , Supplication #108)
May Allah bless us with some degree of this humility. Amin!
A brother inquired about the need of ‘ijazah‘ (permission) to recite from ‘Hisn-haseen’ (a collection of Sunna azkar).
As per the teachings of sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) following reply was given.
There is some detail to this ‘ijazah’ issue.
For the azkar mentioned in Quran and hadith no specific permission is required. The mentioning of it by Allah and His messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) is enough ijazah for all to recite.
However, if a person has a Shaykh who is doing his spiritual tarbiyah then it is essential etiquette (adab) to get his permission for all recitations one is going to include in his daily routine. This brings blessings (barakah) in this recitation.
The reasons for this barakah are,
1. There may be some other higher priority things pending (like completing his many years of qaza salah, earning a halal living, etc.) and the Shaykh will redirect his focus on these essential things.
2. Breaking the habit of doing whatever comes to mind
3. Developing the Sunna habit of consultation.
4. Keeping the Shaykh informed of one’s condition. For advanced murid this calling may be a sign of spiritual progress
5. Informing the Shaykh will also enforce persistence in daily recitation. That is, after getting the permission it is extremely bad to not do it. Also Shaykh will inquire about the previous recitations if in future another similar request is made.
It is a misconception that the barakah of ‘ijazah’ is somewhat similar to a nur or an electric current that passes on from the Shaykh to whom the ijazah is given. It is assumed that without this the recitation will be invalid or less effective or even spiritually or mentally detrimental. This is incorrect.
May Allah guide us all. Amin!
(P.S. All this discussion is in regards to awrad and azkar and do not apply to a’maliyat)
Related:
Khawajah Mohammad Ma’soom Mujaddidi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Believe it with certainty that the love (muhabba) and company (suhba) of a person who possesses millions of virtues and miracles (karamat) but is slack in following the Sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) are lethal poisons.
Whereas, the love and company of an individual who holds no virtues or miracles at all but is steadfast in following the Sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) are indispensable elixirs.
Tazkirah Muslih al-Umma ra, page 205
Shaykh Shah Wasiullah (Allah have mercy on him) said,
“Commonly people state that after achieving annihilation in Shaykh (fana fi Shaykh) the status of annihilation in Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is attained and after this annihilation in Allah (fana fil Allah) can be obtained.
However, at practical level it is observed that they are content at annihilation in Shaykh (fana fi Shaykh) and do not progress further.
I do not approve of this.
Moreover, I consider a Shaykh to be negligent in fulfilling the obligation of the path (tariq) and of his status by not guiding the disciple to the realization (ma’arifa ) of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). ‘
Tazkirah Muslih al-Ummat ra, page 105
At another place Shaykh elucidates that by ma’arifa of Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) it is meant recognizing the significance of following his example (Sunna). ( page 104)
At another place Shaykh repeats,
‘Moreover, the only feat for Shaykh is to ensure that the disciple reaches Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). If he does not do this then he has not fulfilled his obligations and not done the essential job entrusted to him.’ (103)
Importance of following Sunna!
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) told us:
“Shaykh Mujaddid Alif Thani (Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi Naqshbandi, may Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Allah initially gave me the outward knowledge of Shariah and made me excel in it. Then I turned towards the inner wisdom Sufiya possess. All praise to Allah, He made me do extremely well in them also. And Allah bestowed all His bounties on me and eventually elevated me to such a high station that our lord, the mercy for the universe (Prophet Mohammad, Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) conferred the royal cloak of honor to me by his very noble hands.
Furthermore, made me move forward additionally to much higher stations to the level that if I speak of it, the scholars of the exoteric Shariah will give a verdict that I am a unbeliever (kafir) and Sufiya will label me to be a heretic (zindeeq). But how can I deny this? It is a fact.
However, after achieving all these exalted stations I make a prayer (dua). Whoever says ameen after it, inshaAllah he will also receive salvation (magfirah).
The dua is:
O Allah! Give me the tawfeeq to follow the example of Prophet Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him (ameen).
O Allah! Keep me (steadfast in) following the example of Prophet Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him till I die (ameen).
This is because, after all this journey I found out that it is due to this following of Sunna of Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him), that this was achieved.’
Therefore, we should make a solemn determination from today onwards that we are going to perform all the Sunna of Prophet ( Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him). Then, inshaAllah, we will observe how bliss, clarity (noor), blessings (barakah) and luminosity is instilled in our lives.
By Allah, the delight of life is not achieved by indulging in transgressions and sins. Ask regarding this pleasure from those individuals who have molded their lives in the example of Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him). ”
(Islahi-mawaiz 236-7)
Helsinki, ESCMID 2009
Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote in the preface of the book Munajat-e-maqbool,
“In case of dua (supplication) few errors are taking place. That are;
1. To supplicate (dua) only when faced by an adversity.
2. And on these occasions instead of using the supplications told to us by Allah and holy Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him), we go for new and innovative litanies (wazaaif).
3. To supplicate without true yearning, devotion and concentration.
4. To lack the conviction and aspiration that the supplication will be accepted for sure.
5. To make haste and expect immediate response.
If there is delay in its acceptance to be disheartened and abandon making dua.”
Munajat-e-maqbool, page 3-4
Kissimmee, FL