Our master Muʿādh ibn Jabal (God be pleased with him) said,
“An act requires four things to be safe from hypocrisy:
-knowledge before beginning it,
-proper intention at its start,
-patience during it, and
-sincerity at its conclusion.”
The Principles of Tasawwuf (A Ba’yuniah ra), p53
Ibrāhīm ibn Adham (Allah have mercy on him) said,
“One is not sincere in love of God if one loves fame.”
The Principles of Tasawwuf, p49
Ibrāhīm ibn Adham (Allah have mercy on him) said,
“One is not sincere in love of God if one loves fame.”
The Principles of Tasawwuf, p49
A spiritual aspirant wrote:
“I try to perform the fardh salah and mostly with jamat Allhamdullilah. However, sometime I miss the jamat or qadah salah and then I try to perform that as soon as possible. The question is in such case, I feel bad for a very short moment and then move on to other things very quickly. I believe the lose is much more than feeling bad for a very short time. Should I do something specific at such time? Please advise.”
Shaykh (Allah SWT preserve him and allow us to benefit from him abundantly. Ameen) response:
“It fine to acknowledge the mistake, make correction and move on. Holding on to a loss and grieving for long duration are distraction. Each moment has a right that needs to be fulfilled. It will be wasting another moment for a past loss. Be reassured.”
Meraj us Salikeen: Islahi Makateeb #2
Following is a list of common prevalent sinful activities.
Most of us are knowingly or unknowingly involved in them.
Sadly we are neither acknowledging our mistake in this involvement, nor repenting sincerely and making concrete efforts for improvement.
The present Pandemic should be an eye-opener for us.
It is extremely dangerous to belittle a sinful activity. It is spiritually lethal. Emaan is lost by considering it to be okay and continue doing it.
May Allah protect us all. Ameen!
(The list includes the most common and serious ones. There are many others.)
1. Associating partners with Allah. This is not by worshiping idols, but by believing Divinely attributes in created beings.
2. Performing black magic.
3. Free intermingling of opposite sexes.
4. Illicit sexual relationships.
5. Homosexuality.
6. Watching pornography.
7. Masturbation.
8. Listening music.
9. Insolent behavior with parents
10. Breaking blood-relationship ties.
11. Habitual lying.
12. Back-biting.
13. Deceiving another fellow human being.
14. Demanding bribes.
15. Use of intoxicants.
16. Watching movies, dramas and other types of videos.
17. Disregarding the rules of hijab and not covering what needs to be covered.
True Repentance means that we,
1. Acknowledge our mistake and are remorseful
2. We stop doing it immediately
3. We make a firm determination never to do it again
4. In case of negligence in fulfilling the rights of other fellow human beings, we either reimburse them or ask their forgiveness
May Allah facilitate it for us to abstain from all that is sinful. Ameen!
A spiritual aspirant who is a medical student wrote,
Lastly I wanted to inform that I also took admission in online alim course, after having mashwara with my father, he said
ضرور کرو اگر آسانی کر ساتھ کرسکتے ہو بس اپنے اوپر بوجھ نہ ڈالنا
So I will be doing darja aula for trail and if I am able to do then I will continue Inshaa Allah.
Following reply was sent
Wa alaykum as salaam wrwb
JazakAllah
MashaAllah. May Allah give isteqamet & facilitate all with afiyet. Ameen!
We have been instructed to achieve ahsaan (الاحسان) in our life. One interpretation of this is to achieve perfection in whatever we do.
It will be best to focus on your studies seriously and become an outstanding physician.
There are many mediocre doctors and many more non-practicing (bay-amal) alims.
One does not have to be a full fledged alim to be a practicing pious Muslim.
A lot of time the Devil (Shaitan) deceives by getting us involved in some nonessential good work.
Ahsaan (الاحسان) in anything requires lots of mujahidda.
Dil say dua hay.
Was salaam
A sincere brother emailed regarding the quest for a spiritual mentor (Shaykh) in United Kingdom.
Following reply was sent.
It was a pleasure to read your email. MashaAllah. Allah has granted you with balanced understanding, a true yearning (talub) And desire to progress in Deen. May Allah increase them with afiyet. Ameen!
The first thing is to not to make any hasty decisions. Make Dua a lot, mashwara (consultation) with pious repeatedly and istekhara before making any decisions in this regards.
The basic principle is to find a Shaykh you have munasbet (spiritual congeniality).
That is, on hearing Sheikh’s advice the aspirant readily accepts it and feels as though the words are pouring directly into his heart. The advice seems to be aimed directly at him. It appears to address his own spiritual ailments. Most importantly it does not stir any significant negative thoughts and criticism.
Below I’m mentioning few names of reliable and pious Shuyukh. It will be best to contact them, visit them repeatedly and comfortably detect the Munasbet.
1. Maulana Saleem Dhoraat, Leicester
2. Maulana Asif Khalifa, Bradford
3. Maulana Abdur Rauf, Dewberry
4. Mufti Musa Badaat, Dewberry
5. Maulana Mohammed Patel, London
6. Mufti Inayatullah, London
In the meantime follow the instructions ‘For the Seeker’ https://www.ashrafiya.com/instructions-for-the-seeker/ as much as possible.
Please do not hesitate to contact this lowly writer for any questions. I will try my best to answer. InshaAllah it will be mutually beneficial.
The Prophet of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“On the day of eid (when people gather to offer eid prayers)
Allah says to the Angels,
‘Have these people fulfilled the obligation (of fasting)
and are now gathered for prayers?
I swear by My pride, magnificence, majesty, mercy and elevated status that I will fulfill their prayers.
Tell them to return,
I have forgiven them all
and furthermore
I have replaced their sins with virtuous deeds.
Hence they return completely forgiven.
(Mishkat/Bahaiqi)
On our eid visit to Sayyidi wa sanadi Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani(Allah preserve him) we always found him to be extremely happy and cheerful, repeatedly telling us that Arifbillah Dr Abdul Hayy Arifi’s (Allah have mercy on him) statement regarding Eidul fitr
“We are excessively blessed individuals today.
All our sins have been forgiven.
They have been bartered with good deeds.
We are completely clean and tidy.”
An unimaginable joy!
Please, read all the post regarding preparing for Ramadan here.
May Allah facilitate it for us, with afiyet. Ameen!
The COVID-19 Pandemic is taking a major emotional toll on us.
The lockdown and the continuous barrage of negative news is creating uncertainty about one’s own and loved ones’ well being, future, job and financial securities.
This is draining us emotionally and is creating anticipatory grief and depression.
This is spiritually dangerous.
If not dealt appropriately it will lead to loneliness, lassitude, trouble focusing, feelings of sadness & hopelessness, loss of interest in activities previously enjoyed, irritability, restlessness, sleeping difficulties and eventually exhaustion. The daily prayers, recitations, readings and supererogatory (nafil) actions and khushu (concentration & reflection) in them will gradually fade away.
This will be a disaster indeed.
The lifelong mujahidda (struggle) wasted.
We all have to be proactive in this regards.
Following points have helped me and InshaAllah will be helpful for you as well.
1. Keep focused. Our goal is achieving Allah’s pleasure and acceptance. All sinful activities are a barrier to it. Leave them now.
2. Remind ourselves that Allah, Most High being the Sovereign authority in charge (al-Hakim) has all the right to do with us as He wants. No one can question it. We being His slaves have to accept it. However, at the same time we must remember that He is Wise (al-Hakeem) and whatever He does certainly has something beneficial for us. We may not be able to acknowledge this right away but this is for sure.
3. Disconnect with news and social media to a greater extent. Set limits. Check these twice per day just to keep updated and motivated.
4. Connect with Allah. Make dua. Ask Allah for safeguard from all our apprehensions. This can even be non-verbal in mind & heart.
5. Keep up with our daily ma’moolaat (routine). The dhikr, recitations of Holy Quran, Munajat e Maqbool, tasbihat, recommended books. Even under normal circumstances one has to force him/herself to do these. Please remember that this is not easy. This is the daily mujahidda (spiritual struggle) required.
6. Make excessive shukr (gratitude) of Allah. Remind ourselves of all the blessings we have right now, like physical & mental health, food, water, shelter, family & loved ones, accessibility to healthcare etc. and make shukr for each and every of them individually. Allah has promised that gratitude insures and increases the blessing.
7. Use our time wisely. Each moment of our life is priceless. Do not let it waste in useless activities. Do your job. Learn. Read. Write. Cook. Workout. Be busy.
May Allah protect us all and keep us steadfast in these challenging time.
بجاہ سید المرسلین حبیبک صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم
آمین!
The global Coronavirus pandemic, unimaginable lockdown and numerous deaths makes us wonder if this is a sign of Allah’s wrath.
The ‘arifeen (gnostic) make it clear that in disasters like this a blanket statement can not be made.
Each and every individual has to reflect and see his/her own condition. And then make a judgement for him/her-self.
See,
If his devotion towards Allah has increased in form of excessive dua(supplications) shukr (thankfulness), asking refuge for the future apprehensions, repenting from all that is sinful, making up for the past misgivings, being steadfast on good actions in all circumstances and becoming a better human being then this calamity is a blessing for him in disguise, indeed.
However, if this is not the case and one continues with his/her heedlessness and sinful activities then it is a ‘calamity’ (qahr) for him/her indeed.
May Allah protect us all from falling into the second category.
May Allah protect us all from this pandemic with afiyet.
Ameen!