جب مہر نمایاں ہوا سب چھپ گۓ تارے
تو مجھ کو بھری بزم میں تنہا نظر آیا
مجذوب رح
Calling onto others beside Allah for help
Shaykh Mawlana Qadi Hamid-ud-deen Nagori al-Chishti [d:673H] was one of the foremost khalifas of Gharib Nawaz Khawaja Muin al-Deen al-Chishti [may Allah have mercy on them], founder of Chishti silsila. He was first Chishti shaykh to write a book and one of his book was on the usools of Chishti tariqah. It is mentioned in Gulzaar-e-Abrar p.47 that he reached the status of ijtihad in traditional sciences. He writes regarding calling onto others beside Allah for help:
ومنهم الذين يدعون الأنبياء والأولياء عند الحوائج والمصائب
باعتقاد ان أرواحهم حاضرة تسمع النداء وتعلم
الحوائج وذلك شرك قبيح وجهل صريح
“And there are those who call upon the Prophets and awliya for help in the time of distress with the belief that their souls are ever present, listening [hadhir nadhir] and aware of our needs. This is from the worst type of shirk and clear ignorance.”
[Tafheem al-Masail ba-hawala Tausheeh from Jawahir al-Tauheed, p.272. Courtesy Khanbaba. JazakAllah]
Islahi T’aluq
‘Arifbillah Shaykh Dr Abdul-Hayy ‘Arifi (may allah have mercy on him) said;
To slip and commit mistakes is inherent human nature.
If the mistakes were not there spiritual progress would not be possible.
However, to avoid them (in first place) and become aware of them (if committed) prominent scholars and sufis established a relationship for self-reformation (islahi t’aluq) with the friends of Allah (ahlulAllah) and abandoned ascribing any self perfection.
Malfozat-e-‘Arifi ra page 61
خالق سے محبت
دن رات ملاقات
اب اور ہی کچہ ہے میرے دن رات کا عالم
فرقت میں بہی دن رات ملاقات کا عالم
Recitation of Quran in salah!
Shah Abrar ul-Haq (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘Some individuals follow all the rules and regulations of reading Quran in prayers (salah) that are read aloud (jahari), whereas, in prayers that are read silently they do not follow any of the regulations.
Why?
Are these regulations only for the prayers read aloud?
If the following of these regulations is due to the respect and right of the Holy Quran then in all situation they must be followed.
Hayat e Abrar ra, page 255
Secret of Repetition
Arifbillah Shaykh Dr Abdul Hayy (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
Daily wird & Time constraints
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah SWT preserve him and allow us to benefit from him abundantly. Ameen!) said,
‘If due to genuine reasons limited time is available the components of the wird may be decreased in quantity.
For example instead of reciting the tasbeehat 100 times each do it 33 times or 11 times or even 3 times if the restraints are such great.
Do not abandon the wird all together.
Abandoning it will cause loss of great barakah (blessings).’
Allah give us the tawfeeq. Ameen
The Real Objective & Goal
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Moulana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said;
‘The real objective is to gain Allah swt’s pleasure.
This is achieved via being steadfast on the good works (ta’at) and abstaining from all sins.
For the one who is doing these, there is no reason to be worried.
If there are short comings in these, then effort is needed to correct them and to make repentance.
Islahi maktoobat
صلی اللہ علیہ والہ وسلم
صدق
حضرت مفتی محمد شفیع رحمۃ اللہ علیہ
How to develop understanding of Deen?
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him)instructed a mureed,
‘To develop a sound understanding (fehem) of religion reading Hakim al-Ummat Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanavi ra’s discourses (mawaiz) and talks (malfoozat) is essential.”
Also, Shaykh frequently inquires from his mureed how many of these lectures and talks have they read.
In his letter ‘instructions to the those who have authority to guide others in the spiritual path (mujazeen)‘ Shaykh highly stresses this. He instructs that these discourses, (Tarbiyat us Salik) and spiritual talks should be read daily as a routine.
Darul Uloom Karachi, August 2002
Facing antagonism
A seeker complained about the Barelvi antagonism.
Shaykh Sayyid Abdush Shakoor Tirmizi* (may Allah have mercy on him) replied,
‘I make supplication (dua in this regards).
Be patient and maintain silence.
Make supplications yourself also.
Maintain complete silence by tongue and heart in this regards.
Advice your acquaintances to do the same.
Do not even discuss these controversial issues. The truth has already been established and disseminated. God-willing (inshaAllah) it is sufficient.
(Beware!) This is the era of calamities (fitna).’
Hayat e Tirmizi, page 134
* A senior khalifaof Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Zafar Ahmad Usmani and Mufti Mohammad Shafi (may Allah have mercy on them)
Karamat e Imdadiya
صلی اللہ علیہ والہ وسلم
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates,
‘Hadhrat Haji Imdad Ullah mohajir Makki (may Allah sanctify his secret) said,
Apparently my first baya was in Naqshbandi tariqa with Hadhrat Naseer uddin Dehlawi khalifa of Hadhrat Shah Afaq (may Allah have mercy on them). In reality it is without any intermediaries directly with respected Prophet, the Last Messenger (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him).
It was in this manner; I saw Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) seated in a very prominent place. In his blessed hand was the hand of Hadhrat Sayyid Ahmad Shaheed (may Allah have mercy on him). I was standing with humility in their presence. Hadhrat Sayyid sahib (may Allah have mercy on him) took my hand and placed it in Prophet’s hand (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him).
Karamat e Imdadiya, page 44
Supplications
Shaykh Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘In Prophetic tradition (hadith) supplication has been called مخ العبادة (soul of worship).
When Allah, Most High wants to bestow someone (with His special favors) He inspires in him the art of supplication (dua).
This supplication is from the depth of his heart and intellect. Moreover, it seems to emanate from each and every cell of his body.
This supplication gives him the courage to face the hardships of this worldly life.
It instills in him new hope and aspiration.
It increases his trust in Allah.
And (most importantly) it stirs awake his determination to act appropriately.”
Muqadamah:Tasali ka saman, page 9