Request for esal e thawab

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My respected father Hadhrat Cdr. (R) Shaukat Kamal, khalifa mujaz of sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) passed away on Friday 19 Sha’ban 1429/22 August 2008 (1145Hrs) after a brief severe illness.

He was 78 years old. The funeral prayers was done after asr salah at Masjid Bait-us-Salam, DHA, Karachi. Hadhrat Hasan Imam khalifa of Hadhrat Nawab Eshrat Ali Khan (may Allah preserve them) and Dr Hafeezullah (may Allah have mercy on him) did the imamet. Burial was at Paposhnagar graveyard besides his father’s grave.

May Allah forgive his mistakes, shower His special mercies on him and raise his stations manifolds in proximity of our master the blessed Prophet (Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him) and his noble family members, companions and awliya. Amin!

Current affairs!

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In light of the present uncertain conditions, especially in Pakistan, sayyidi was sanadi Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) encourages all Muslims to turn towards Allah by repentance, supplications, recitation of the verse (ayat) shown above abundantly and by being more careful of the presence of heart (khushu’) in daily prayers (salah).

May Allah give us the tawfeeq. Amin!

How to recite the daily tasbihat? Part 2

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Mawlana Abdur-Rauf Sukkharvi (may Allah preserve him) continues,

Then proceed to the recitation of blessings and salutation (darood) on the Holy Prophet.

Refresh your intention,
O Allah! I am the most lowly individual in the followers (Ummah) of the Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).

Prophet’s favors on me are innumerable.

It is essential (wajib) for me to love him.

Hence, in order to fulfill the obligations of this love and to further increase it in my heart I recite these salutations.

Then with full concentration recite the durood,

اللهم صل على سيدنا محمد ن النبى الامى

 و على اله و اصحابه و بارك و سلم

Rozana kay ma’moolat, page 7-8

How to recite the daily tasbihat? Part 1

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Senior khalifa of Mufti Mohammad Shafi and Shaykh Dr Hafeezullah Madni (may Allah have mercy on them) and sayyidi wa sanadi’s outsatnding student Mawlana Abdur-Rauf Sukkharvi (may Allah preserve him) instructs the muridin,

Start with the repentance (isteghfar) with the intention,

O Allah! I am Your sinful and disobedient slave.

There is none except You who can forgive me and grant me salvation.

Therefore, in order to ask forgiveness for all of my shortcomings I repent.

Then with full concentration recite;

استغفرالله ربى من كل ذنب و اتوب اليه

Rozana kay ma’moolat, page 7

گناہ آئینہ عفو و رحمت

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گناہ آئینہ عفو و رحمت ست اے شیخ

مبیں بچشم حقارت گنا ہگا ر ا ں را

O (sufi) shaykh!

Sins are like a mirror that reflect the Divine forgiveness and mercy

(if sincere repentance is done) 

 so do not look down upon the sinner with contempt.

قلب کا جاری ہونا

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حضرت حکیم الامت مولانا اشرف علی تھانوی قدس اللہ سرہ فرماتے ہیں،

“ایک شخص شاہ ولی اللہ صاحب رحمۃ اللہ علیہ کے پاس آیا اور عرض کیا کہ،

 ‘حضرت میرا قلب جاری ہوگیا ہے۔’

 آپ نے حاضرین سے فرمایا کہ دل کے دھڑکنے کو قلب کا جاری ہونا نہیں کہتے۔

 قلب کا جاری ہونا یہ ہے کہ ہر وقت خدا تعالی’ کی یاد رل پر حاضر رہے۔’

 الرفیق فی سواء الطریق، ملفوظات حکیم الامت رح، جلد 27، ص108

Abandon innovation but don’t quarrel with innovator

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

From the general lay public when I accept someone’s request for allegiance (baya’), I instruct him to abandon innovations (bida’) but at the same time I tell him not to quarrel with those who indulge in these sort of activities. Allah is not going to ask you why did those people indulged in them.”

Mufti Jamil Ahmad Thanawi (may Allah have mercy on him) adds in a footnote,
“However, the knowledgeable (scholars) have the permission do so if there is a need.”

Al-rafiq fi sawa et-tareeq, Malfuzat e Hakim al Ummat, volume 27, page 205

It is important for the novice seeker (salik) to understand this upfront.  

Indulgence in these sorts of argumentation is a waste of quality time and destroys spiritual serenity. Moreover, without having the blame worthy moral characteristics under control it leads to sinful activities, like anger, arrogance, ostentation, looking down on others, etc.

May Allah save us all from these! Amin.

اے میرے اللہ میری سن

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بندہ ہوں تیرا اے میرے اللہ میری سن

فرما دے میرے مقصد قلبی کے لئے کن

ہر غیر کو دل سے میرے معدوم ہی کردے

سب بھول کے لگجاۓ بس اک دل کو تیری دھن

  بابا نجم احسن رح

Reality of love

 

Baba Najam Ahsan (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

“Love increases, eventually to a stage that its sensation annihilates and it is assimilated into the entity of beloved. (That is, our feelings & emotions (hal) undergo metamorphosis and the state (maqam) of keeping the beloved really happy emerges.)

I provide a few simple examples to make it understandable. Perceive it in your self (assuming that you are a perfectly content couple), neither do you verbalize your love for your wife nor does she articulates it for you, whereas in reality you both are true soul mates. (Your attitude and interaction towards each other is demonstrative of this love, more than the speech.)

Similarly, it is not essential for an individual to put into words feelings of love for his/her mother. (Your appreciation and affection are evident by your behavior and interactions.)

The blessed Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were similarly immersed in the love of Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) to such an extent that its feelings (verbalization and emotional expression) were gone, leaving them only with their awareness of servitude (bandagi). (Their ‘love’ was to perform with utmost sincerity all that is agreeable and abstain from all that is disagreeable to the beloved. Their goal was to keep the beloved well pleased.)

Zikr e Ahsan ra, page 198

We should reflect on this and examine ourselves!

What kind of love, if any do we have for Allah, His Beloved Prophet and friends?

Do our emotional feelings rule this realtionship or the pleasure of one whom we claim to love does so?

‘Umrah in the month of Rajab

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Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) writes,

“Ibn ‘Abidin, the well-known scholar of the Islamic jurisprudence, has mentioned that the people of Makkah (in his days) used to perform ‘umrah in the month of Rajab. Perhaps they believed that performing ‘umrah in this month is more meritorious than in other months. Then Ibn Abidin himself has rejected the authenticity of this practice, because no tradition of the Holy Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) is found to this effect. Conversely Sayyidah ‘Aishah, Radi-Allahu anha, has expressly negated the presumption by saying that the Holy Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him)never performed an ‘umrah in the month of Rajab (Sahih Muslim 1:409)

However, Ibn ‘Aibidin has quoted a narration that ‘Abdullah ibn Zubair, Radi-Allahu anhu, completed the renovation of Ka’bah shortly before 27th of Rajab, and as a sign of gratefulness he performed ‘umrah and slaughtered some animals. But this report cannot form the basis of a recognized annual practice, firstly because the report is not very authentic, and secondly because it does not mention that Abdullah ibn Zubair, Radi-Allahu anhu, had adopted it as a continuing practice. At the most, he performed ‘umrah once as a sign of gratefulness on the completion of Ka’bah. It does not mean that he performed it as a characteristic of the month of Rajab. Therefore, performing ‘Umrah in this month is like performing it in any other month and no special merit can be attached to it merely because it has been performed in the month of Rajab.”

Rajab: Islamic months

Excessive supplication

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Sayyidi wa sanadi Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) was performing Umrah.

At each and every step he supplicated at length with utmost serenity, humility and servitude.

In the prayers after the tawaf (wajib ut-tawaf) his ruku and sujood were longer than usual. During sai’i he recited the supplications from Munajat e Mabool. However, at stops on Safa and Marwa he made dua at length in Urdu.

At the end of the Umrah rituals he made another very comprehensive supplication audible to those immediately besides him on Marwa.

All praise is for Allah, he did not miss a single moment without being in contact with Allah, Most High during the whole process. Moreover,  numerous individuals and few of his students on recognizing him came to greet him and asked for prayers for themselves. Again providing an opportunity to call upon Allah.

May Allah give us the ability (tawfiq) to learn from this. Amin!