Category Archives: T. Tarbiyet

Contains principle and guidelines on training and disciplining of the morals (ikhlaq) of murid

دعا تو دل کی پکار ہے

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حضرت مولاناابرارالحق صاحب رحمۃ اللہ نے فرمایا

دعا تو دل کی پکار ھے، کوئی ھاتھ پھیلائے زبان سے کھے اور دل کھیں اور ہو تو وہ دعا نھیں ھے، دعا کی صورت ھے۔

اس کی مثال میں عرض کرتا ھوں : ایک شخص نے حاکم کے پاس ایک درخواست لکھی اور وہ بھت عمدہ ٹائپ ھے، کاغذ بھی اچھا ھے، القاب و آداب ھیں، ٹکٹ لگاکر پیش کی، لیکن جب درخواست دینے کا وقت آیا تو حاکم کے سامنے درخواست پیش کی اور منہ پھیر لیا تو کیا ھوگا؟ اس کی درخواست منظور ھو جائے گی؟ یا کھا جائے گا کہ بڑا گستاخ اور بے ادب ھے کہ درخواست حاکم کے سامنے پیش کرنے کا سلیقہ بھی نھیں آتا۔

اسی طرح دعا میں بھی قلب غافل ھے اور دل کھیں اور ھے تو پھر اللہ تعالیٰ کے یھاں ایسی دعا قبول نھیں کی جاتی۔ اس لئے دعا کرے تو دل کو متوجہ رکھے۔

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Picture: Mihrab of Masjid Mehdar, Tarim, Yemen

Annihilation

Shaykh Mawlana Wasiullah (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘If someone rebukes another individual without a reason and he remains silent. That is, not saying anything in return. This leads to extreme annihilation of the lower self (nafs).

Allah likes this quality very much.

This is also called patience (sabr), an unique quality of a believer.’

Shaykhan: Ainan e tajriyan, page 54


Arrogance & Humility

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‘O Ahmad!

Arrogance is a thing to be discarded, and humility is desired.

Arrogance reflects envy, and humility attracts friendship.

Arrogance is hideous, and humility is beautiful.

Arrogance leads to hatred, and humility brings forth love.

Arrogance is the behavior of niggards, and humility is the attribute of the noble.

Arrogance dissolves friendships, and humility strengthens them.

Arrogance is (one of the) most  evil moral traits in men and women.

O Ahmad!

It is narrated by Ibn e Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) that

I am bewildered by the state of an individual

who has passed through the urinary outlet twice* and displays arrogance. ‘

Mulhemat of Shaykh Jamaluddin Ahmad Hansvi (Allah have mercy on him), page 41-43

(*First as a sperm and then as a newborn.)

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Effacement of self ego

‘Arif billah Dr. Abdul Hayy ‘Arifi (Allah have mercy on him) told the following incident while discussing the effacement and annihilation of self ego (nafs),

‘The status of Allamah Sayyid Suleman Nadvi (Allah have mercy on him) is well known. He was an established scholar (expert in Arabic, Urdu, Persian and Hebrew with numerous publications). However, after his relationship with Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) his humility and self effacement was remarkable.

There was an illiterate individual in Thana Bhawan named Reham Ali. He provided some services to Hakim al-Umma, such as delivering milk at his home, etc. He later migrated to Karachi.

On one occasion in Karachi I saw Allamah Sayyid Suleman Nadvi (Allah have mercy on him) carrying the shoes of Reham Ali. I was shocked and inquired him regarding this. He humbly replied that he was doing this because he had seen Reham Ali carrying the shoes of Hakim al-Umma.’

Majlis e matab 1980s on CD

Spiritual Diseases: The Rule of Thumb

In spiritual diseases (muhlekat e nafs) the rule of thumb is;

If one considers him/herself to be free from a specific disease, e.g. arrogance (kibr), hasad (envy) etc. it is for sure that he/she is afflicted with it.

That might be the reason that many of the noble companions ridhwanullah ta’ala ajmaeen considered themselves to be hypocrite (munafiq) and most of the pious (awliya) consider themselves to be worse than unbelievers (kafir-e-farang).

Being steadfast on daily routine

Shaykh Ibn Ata’illah al-Iskandari (Allah have mercy on him [d. 1309CE]) said,

‘It is only an ignoramus who regards constancy of acts of worship and remembrance (adhkar) as insignificant.

The Divinely epiphanies (waridat) will occur even in the Hereafter while acts of worships (award) will end with this world. It is, therefore, of greater importance to maintain something which has no substitute.

Your Lord demands wird from you while you expect waarid from Him.

What relationship is there between your desire and His demand?’ (al-Hikam,  #112)

Explaining it Shaykh Abdullah Gangohi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘It is only an ignorant individual who regards steadfastness in acts of worship and remembrance to be insignificant.

There are two reasons for this misconception,

Firstly – The occurrence of Divinely epiphanies (waridat) will be even in the Here-after. In fact, they will be more there because here on Earth there is contaminations of human temperament and the material bodies that causes impediment in acknowledgment of these Divine epiphanies. But, in the Here-after these impediments will no longer exist. On the other hand, the acts of worship, remembrance and recitation which are rendered with the physical body are possible only here on Earth. Thus, after death there is no substitute for them. Whereas Divine epiphanies exist here and will exist in the Here-after as well, even in greater measure (both in quantity and quality). Hence, it is of greater importance to guard the acts of worship performed physically. That is, the daily routine called wird (or ma’amolaat).

Secondly– The wird is Allah’s demands while it is the seeker who desires waaridaat. There is no comparison between what we desire and the demand of Allah. It is best for us to attach greatest importance to Allah’s demand.

It is, therefore, essential for the seeker to be steadfast in the observance of the acts of worship and the wird which has been imposed on him. He should not regard these to be inferior to waarid. This is because the normal cause of waaridaat is also the wird. As a result of the seeker’s wird, he is blessed with the occurrence of waaridaat.’

Ikmal ush Shiyam, 21st chapter (edited)

A dream for guidance!

A person wrote the following,

“I saw a dream that I am writing to you. It was the night of 27th Ramadan 1237H. With the possibility that it may be the Night of Power (shab e qadr) I had planned to offer optional salah (nawafil) all night. However, after ‘esha salah when I returned home I laid down on the bed besides the main door (to rest for a while). I fell asleep. Around two o’clock I saw a dream that I have traveled to a place where there is a very large open area, many miles wide. There is organized seating arrangement on the floor. In between there is a table covered with a table-cloth. Millions of people wearing their best clothes and perfume are sitting with reverence (adab). There are few high ranking individuals sitting on the chairs around the table. On the table there is writing board around 2-3 yards in length and 1 or 1.5 yards in breadth. A respected individual dressed in white gown (‘abaya) and green turban (‘amamah) on head is standing besides the table greeting and shaking hands with the crowd. The blessed face in radiant like the sun and with his enlightened and enlightening tongue he is telling them,

“I tell you with much emphasis that you should abstain from all that is impermissible (haram) and be steadfast on that is permissible (halal).”

Observing all this I went forward and greeted the blessed person with ‘as salam o alaikum’. He replied, ‘wa alaikum as salam wa rehmatullah’. I reached forward and shook hands and embraced him also. He told me that it was very good and that I should become a mureed, and he promised to tell me eleven things that he has reserved especially and exclusively for me. This humble guy (myself) stood there with utmost reverence. He gave me the permission to sit. I was going to sit on the floor but he instructed me to sit on one of the chairs. Thanking him I sat on one of the vacant chairs. I was extremely happy in my heart.

On the blackboard I saw numerous names written in elegant and bold white letter. I saw them very clearly. The names that I could read included, Hahdrat Mawlana Fazalur Rehman Ganjmuradabadi, …….., Haji Imdadullah, Haji Ashraf ‘Ali and Molvi Mohammad Ishaq, etc.

As I turned to my side I saw Hadhrat Mawlana Fazalur Rehman Ganjmuradabadi, whom I was blessed to visit as a child. Immediately it flashed to me that this is the scenario of Judgment day. The blessed individual is our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and those sitting on the chairs are his Companions, including Sayyidina Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman and ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all).

It also occurred to me that I am already a mureed (of a Shaykh) and should not hide it from the blessed Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and should seek Allah.

Around an hour or later the blessed Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) called for me. I shook hands and embraced him. Furthermore I reminded him of those eleven things he had promised to tell me so that I can follow them wholeheartedly. I also informed him that I am already a mureed but I want Allah. On hearing this, he immediately pulled away his hand from me and said, ‘Indeed you are ………. and you are the mureed of …………., an innovator (bida’ti). Futhermore he took a pencil and crossed out my and my Shaykh’s names from the list on the blackboard. Then the blessed Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) told me to go away. With lots of courage and adab I humbly said that my Shaykh is not an innovator.

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) replied that he is an innovator and in addition he associates partners with Allah (mushrik).

Humbly and with utmost veneration I said that I have never seen him doing any shirk.

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, he is involved in taking out effigies of the tombs of the martyrs of Kerbala (taziyadar), a lover of the worldly things, an idolater prostrating in front of the graves. Didn’t you see him at …….. village, in Lucknow that he bowed his head infront of his Shaykh’s grave and forbade you from visiting the holy sanctuary in Medinah e munawwara.

(I became a mureed in 1893 CE. In 1898 I received khilafa and in 1900 this incident happened. In this 26 or 27 years relationship I attended the death anniversary of a sufi saint (urs/hawl) and listened to the sufi poetry sung with musical instruments (qawwali) only once.)

I cried and begged but the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did not reply. As the last resort I ran and held the blessed feet of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) rebuffed my hands and stroked me (with his blessed foot) strongly in my ribs. I fell down and started to tremble. This woke me up. At that time I was crying, feeling the pain in my ribs and I was trembling. I went inside the house and told my son ………. Chatari the whole dream just mentioned. In the morning I wrote this all and send it to my Shaykh. He came in person to my house and listened to the whole incident again. His response was to prepare for Hajj journey this year in order to visit the blessed Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and ask forgiveness. I did not commit due to insufficient funds and debts.

Since I have seen this dream my conviction towards my respected Shaykh has waned off. Now I am approaching you for my religious betterment (islah). I will be very fortunate if I am considered to be your humble servant.

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

“This dream is absolute guidance. It is essential (wajib) to leave the Shaykh who acts against Sunna and to establish contact with truthful people (ahl e haqq). I have no hesitation in giving instructions regarding the spiritual path. Start acting on the fiqh as outlined in the books, Behashti Zewar (Heavenly Ornaments) and Islah e rasoom. Take the awrad from Qasdus sabil and general advices from my spiritual discourses (mawaiz). The full instructions in detail will be discussed when we meet in person.

Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 2, page 1069-70

The gist of Tasawwuf

Replying to a salik’s letter Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

‘All praise is for Allah.  You are aware that the objective of this path (of tasawwuf) is to gain Allah’s acceptance (raza). Now there are two things to be pursued one is the knowledge of the path (tareeq) and the other is to act accordingly.

Surely the path is only one. That is, meticulously carrying out the actions prescribed by Shariah both in physical (zahiri) and spiritual (batini) domain.

Two things are helpful in this effort. Firstly, remembrance of Allah (dhikr) as much is within one’s capability. (This you are already doing and is included in this exposition.) The other is abundant company (suhba) of pious as much as practically is possible. If you can not spare time for this then reading about the pious or their works is its substitute.

Two things are impediment in achieving the goal.  The first of them is involvement in sins and  other is engrossment in useless activities.

And the thing that is a prerequisite for all this to be beneficial is diligently keeping the Shaykh informed about one’s condition.

After this depending on one’s capabilities the objective is achieved sooner or later.

I said it all.’

Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 2, page 1261

Tip on adding something new to our daily routine

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It is a common every day incident that we read or hear something that is virtuous and a blessing to be in-cooperated into one’s daily routine. However, in addition to forgetfulness we find it difficult to spare an additional time slot for this small endeavor in our daily schedule.

Sayyid wa sanadi Shaykh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) instructed,

‘The tip to include something new in your daily routine is to squeeze it between two already established chores.’

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Utilizing time appropriately

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Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,

‘The development in technology has led to remarkable shortening of time required to accomplish common everyday chores. For example, the use of mobile phone, email, modern transport means, gas and electric cooking etc. has drastically decreased the time required for similar actions done previously via conventional methods. However, it is essential for us to contemplate that what use are we making of the extra time that is being saved.’

Sunday waaz 2010, Darul Uloom Karachi

Speech of the lover!

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Replying to the lamentation of a mujaz about the inability to express his inner state clearly Hakim al-ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,

”Just consider the actions (of worship both esoteric/exoteric) to be the goal. Do not consider expressions and discussions (of the states) to be the objective (of this path).

The poet appropriately says,

گر چہ تفسیر زبان روشن گر است

لیک عشق بے زبان روشن تراست 

Basair Hakim al-Ummat ra, page 444

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Secret of repitition

‘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