Our master Prophet Jesus son of Mary (Allah’s peace be upon them) said,
“It is of no use to you to come to know what you did not know, so long as you do not act in accordance with what you already know.
Too much knowledge only increases pride if you do not act in accordance with it.”
Abu ‘Abdallah Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Shaybani Ibn Hanbal: Kitab al-Zuhd 327:
Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Shah Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) instructed a seeker,
‘A little determination is required to stay away from all that is sinful. In addition, sit and recite daily with contemplation hundred times ‘Allah’ ‘Allah’. Do this in spite of not having the desire to do so.
…….
I have a strict criteria (in instructing those aspiring spiritual progress) to stay away from all that is sinful.
Holding one’s self from indulgence in sinful is the most undesired (yet most beneficial) of all the spiritual struggles and exercises for the lower self (nafs).’
Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 3, page 1026
Many people try to coerce their family members to reform (islah). Use of verbal, physical or emotional pressure may be involved in this effort.
The golden words of Mufti Rasheed Ahmad Ludhyanawi (Allah have mercy on him) must be remembered that this is not permissible to do so for post-pubertal individuals, like adult sons, daughters, sons & daughters-in law, etc.
If done without wisdom it backfires and leads to alienation from religion, misunderstandings and souring of relationships. (May Allah save us all. Amin!)
It is best to make excessive supplications (dua) in this regards and ask Allah for guidance. Then only one should advice them gently in a heartfelt manner at an appropriate time in privacy. Until then one should be involved in his own islah.
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaikh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) repeatedly tells us,
‘A truthful advice in not a club to strike another individual as one desires.
Sometimes one has to wait for years to say the right thing with the right intention in the right manner for it to be effective.’
Allah give us the tawfeeq. Amin!
| Definition: | compassion, generosity |
| Synonyms: | affection, altruism, amiability, beneficence, benevolence, charity, clemency, consideration, cordiality, courtesy, decency, delicacy, fellow feeling, forbearance, gentleness, good intention, good will, goodness, grace, graciousness, heart, helpfulness, hospitality, humanity, indulgence, kindliness, magnanimity, mildness, patience, philanthropy, serviceability, solicitousness, solicitude, sweetness, sympathy, tact, tenderness, thoughtfulness, tolerance, understanding, unselfishness |
| Antonyms: | cruelty, harshness, meanness |
–
Our master the holy Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
إن الله يحب الرفق في الأمر كله (رواه البخاری)۔
“Allah is kind and loves kindness in every matter.”
إن الرفق لا يكون في شيء إلا زانه . ولا ينزع من شيء إلا شانه ( رواه مسلم) ۔
“Whenever kindness is in a thing it adorns it, and whenever it is removed from anything, it disfigures it.” [Muslim]
——————————————
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaikh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) often says that Arabic is a very unique and rich language. It has a huge vocabulary. Sometimes it is quite difficult to convey the meaning of a word when translating it into another language. This is specially so with the languages like English.
A seeker living in the holy city of Makkah wrote,
‘I feel disgusted when I see the Shia Iranian pilgrims roaming around in this holy city. Please, advice if I need to do anything about these feelings.’
Shaikh Dr. Hafeezullah Sukkharwi/Madani (Allah have mercy on him) replied,
‘Aren’t they human being?
This is grossly inappropriate.
One should abhor their deviant beliefs. However, every human being is to be respected and the best should be desired for him (this includes salvation in hereafter. That is, by making supplication (dua) and effort (as much possible within one’s means) that he may be guided to true faith and practice).’
Shaikh Wasif Manzoor (Allah have mercy on him) passed away in Karachi couple of days back. He was buried in Darul Uloom Karachi.
A khalifa of Shaikh Sayyid Raziuddin Ahmad Fakhri (Allah have mercy on him) he was extensively involved in dawa o tabligh.
May Allah forgive him, raise his status manifolds in hereafter, give patience to all those who knew him and provide them with a substitute to continue benefiting spiritually. Amin!
Shaikh Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘An incident from the life of Shaikh Ibrahim bin Adham (Allah have mercy on him) is mentioned in books. The Shaikh said,’ One night I overslept and missed my wird. This disturbed me a lot and I became agitated. This was because in those days I was from the individuals who have faith in their effort and see them (as their own achievement). In its retribution,due to oversleeping, I missed few essential (fardh) religious duties.
I became extremely anxious and cried asking Allah, ‘What is this happening? Having surpassed omission of supererogatory (nafil) actions now I am missing the essential ones.’
Instantaneously I heard a voice from within,
O Ibrahim! Become Our slave (abd).
By doing so you will find spiritual serenity.
(This means to abandon your own determination and choices and act as per Our decree and guidance). When We make you to oversleep then sleep. And when We command you to get up then rise. Between these two extremes you have no choice of your own.’
Talifaat e Muslih al-Ummat ra, volume 2, page 20
–
–
Hakim al-Umma Shaikh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) said,
‘I am thankful to Allah that I never developed an ill opinion in my heart about any of the pious individuals just because of the differences in the peripheral issues (faru’i ikhtelafat). This is so provided that the signs of piety overwhelmingly manifested in them.
I keep a good opinion of those who are engaged in remembrances of Allah. This is in spite of their involvement in few mistakes. It is not necessary to prove all their statements and actions to be in compliance with Shariah. I make an excuse for the pious who are in overwhelming spiritual state that they are excused because of their over powering condition. Moreover, in issues that are ijtehadi (open to genuine interpretation) the possibility of genuine difference of opinion holds me from having a bad opinion of them.’
Ashraf us Sawanih, volume, 1, pg 183
–
Shaikh Dr Hafeezullah Sukkharwi/Madni (Allah have mercy on him) wrote to a senior seeker (most likely a colleague),
‘Pas anfas is a spiritual exercise (shugal). It is recommended for the novice (mubtadi) or intermediate (mutawaset) seeker until the remembrance of Allah (dhikr) is deeply established within him. Once the dhikr has permeated and established then there is no need for these spiritual exercises.
All praise is for Allah. The dhikr has permeated within you. In my lowly opinion there is no need for you to indulge in these exercises.
The permeation and establishment of remembrance (dhikr) means that with slightest effort and concentration the heart turns towards Allah and becomes involved (in His remembrance or following of His commandments).
Hakim al-Umma Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) has given an example to illustrate this. That is, a teacher who has been teaching for a period of time develops such an expertise in that subject that whenever he is teaching it all the matters related to it are within his mind and grasp. However, this is not the case when he is teaching another subject.
Moreover, Hakim al-Umma (Allah have mercy on him) said that even this permeation and establishment (of dikr) is also a state (haal). The real goal (maqam) of this permeation and establishment of dhikr is to act appropriately when the time of action comes.
Allah praise is for Allah. You are blessed with all these treasures. Continue at your pace on the path Hakim al-Umma and Shaikh Mufti (Mohammad Hassan) (Allah have mercy on them) have placed you. It is thoroughly adequate and beneficial.
In how many things can we emulate others (Sufi orders & their techniques)?
Every flower has a different color and unique smell.
Moreover, the paths to the relationship with Allah are as numerous as the number of breaths of all the creatures.’
Gulistan e dil, page 16
–
Shaikh Shah Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah Have mercy on him) said,
‘An individual who has established a relationship with Allah also develops a bond with the (contemporary) pious Masters and their disciples, Therefore, they are now called brethren in the Path (of Tasawwuf) (ikhwan at tareeq).
However, if (in practical life) they do not have unity and mutual compassion then how could they be brothers? They are acting like enemies.Then how could they be called ikhwan at tareeq?
(If this is happening) Then it can be deduced that these individuals are not on the Path. It is only a ritual and a symbol they are following (without any reality). This is because, if they were to be on the Path then its essential effects must have manifested in their life (i.e. bond with Allah and His creation). The absence of the desired result proves the futility of the principles involved itself.’
Halaat e Mulih al-Ummat ra, volume 3, page 419
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaikh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,
‘My respected father (Mufti Mohammad Shafi’,Allah have mercy on him) used to say in context of the Quranic verse:
[O you who believe, fear Allah, and be in the company of the truthful.]
In his tafsir Imam Razi (Allah have mercy on him) said that there is a prophecy in it for the future generation to come until the Day of Judgment.
The explanation is that it is our fundamental belief that the injunctions of Quran are to be followed in all environments and circumstances till the very last day. Then how is it possible that the Quran will order us to do something that is not possible. If the pious ceased to exist then how their company can be achieved. This proves that the truthful and pious (sadiqeen) will always exist so their company is available to achieve taqwa.
He further added that it may be possible that they are less in number and difficult to discover. However, this does not negate their existence. Just take the every day examples. These days corruption and contamination of food is rampant. It is difficult to find unadulterated common day items such as sugar and flour. In spite of this none of us have abandoned their use and settled for substandard alternatives. We actively search for places from where good quality stuff can be purchased.
Similarly, search actively for pious and inshaAllah you will find them.
However, do not set your standards very high.
For people of our caliber pious individuals like Shaikh Junaid Baghdadi or Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani or Shaikh Moin ud Deen Chishti (Allah have mercy on them) are not essential. Our islah (spiritual reformation) can be effectively done by the pious present in our era.
Waaz, Ramadan 1432
کیوں نہ ھو دنیا سے غافل کیوں نہ ھو
جو تمھاری یاد سے غافل نھیں
مولانا اسعداللہ رحمۃ اللہ علیہ
Our master Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said,
‘Desire for yourself what you desire for others.
If you do so, you will become a true Muslim.’
Musnad-i-Ahmed, Tirmidhi
