Sahih International
And inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness,
Sahih International
And the messenger of Allah [Salih] said to them, "[Do not harm] the she-camel of Allah or [prevent her from] her drink."
Sahih International
But they denied him and hamstrung her. So their Lord brought down upon them destruction for their sin and made it equal [upon all of them].Allah swears by things in Quran. What is the intended effect? The maximum number of qasam in a single go are in Surah Shams. Allah swears by 7 things in this Surah. All of this is followed by an ayah about tazkiya nafs.
Quranic model of Tazkiya:
Prepare yourself for the day when neither your wealth or your sons will be of any benefit. The only benefit will be Qalb e saleem.
The Prophet SAWW's nabuwwat comprised of four things:
So that he may recite the verses of revelation
So that he may purify them
Instruct them in the meanings of Quran e kareem
Instruct them in wisdom and hikmah
SO the prophetic methods of tazkiya must be continued till the end of time
Prophetic Model of Tazkiya
Sahaba were the students of Tazkiya and the Prophet SAWW was the teacher of tazkiya.
Sahaba used to turn to the Prophet SAWW and tell him about his condition e.g. Hanzala RA once said that Hanzala has become a munafiq. Sayyidna Abu bakr RA asked him why he said that. He said that he feels a hypocrisy in his heart because he feels different after coming back from the majlis of Prophet SAWW.
The Prophet SAWW used to give them guidance and the students used to follow his advice. Obviously you are going to contact only if you don't know how to deal with it yourself OR you do have the knowledge but you are too lazy to do it or there are other hurdles. If you have the ability to deal with it yourself then that's fine too.
Sahih International
And We sent not before you, [O Muhammad], except men to whom We revealed [the message], so ask the people of the message if you do not know.(Surah Anbiya)
Sahih International
O you who have believed, fear Allah and be with those who are true. (Tawbah)He used to give them instructions.(Naseeha).
Koonu and sadiqeen are both plural but according to Arabic, it implies that EACH and everyone of you need to be in the suhbat of the sadiqeen. Sadiqeen comes from Sidq and the greatest Siddeeq was Siddeeq e Akbar RA. Siddeeq is the one true to Allah SWT by following Allah and his messenger. It can be a relative term too to refer to those truer THAN US to Allah SWT. It is a way to get Taqwa.
The Ulema are the wurasa of Anbiya and they carry out all the roles except Prophethood SAWW himself.
The next thing to do is ittaba(following the person giving the advice). The tabaeen were the followers of sahaba and the taba tabaeen followed the tabaeen. All of them ultimately followed the Prophet SAWW but they took advice from those available to them. The Quran says ittaba sabeel ul momineen(follow the path of believers). So that means there is a well trodden path of siraat ul mustaqeem and we need to follow that path. We are also the taba taba taba-tabaeen.
Allah also says wattabay inaaba illayya(Follow the one who turns to Allah alone)
The branch of tazkiya developed over time when Sahaba dispersed to various lands so it was essential to establish deen in all territories. So they took the mantle of teaching different aspects of deen to new converts and it led to various specializations in deen. This continued and developed over generations. It adopted a new name(Zuhd). e.g. Hassan basri, Abdullah ibn Mubarak etc. It was called Zuhd to count the worldly love and the conflicts based on worldly that has aroused among muslims. Hasan basri RA had two majaalis, one for ilm and one for tazkiya.
Just like it is good to have a single family doctor who knows you really well inside out so that he knows your body better and can prescribe treatment accordingly, it is good to have a single spiritual teacher too who knows you inside out. He knows your spiritual side and knows your weaknesses and your nafs and what bothers you more than others. Such a teacher is called Shaykh. The maqsood is never the shaykh or the doctor, the maqsood and the goal is the purification process and Allah SWT himself. It is just an effective way of getting close to Allah SWT. The Shaykhs have years of experience in teaching people how to cure the ailments of the heart. The more experience a doctor has, the better he is able to guide people.
Tasawwuf is just another name for it. Just like Naazira is another name for learning Qiraat of the Qur'an instead of Tajweed.
It is a branch of Islaam and it is not enough on its own but needs to be pursued along with other branches of deen.
What are the distinguishing hallmark features of this branch?
The Qur'an says,leave all sins outwardly and inwardly. Outward sins are taught by Ilm e shariyah and fiqh e.g. eating pork,alcohol, gambling.
For inward sins and the ailments of the heart, we have ilm of Tazkiya e.g. for unlawful desires, anger, stinginess, love for the world, envy,pride,hatred etc. We have lost the sensitivity to these inward sins and our tabiyat does not feel repugnance towards these the same way we feel repugnance for the outward haram things.
Then it replaces those unlawful desires with lawful desires e.g. love for Allah, remembrance of Allah,haya, preparation for hereafter,forbearance,compassion,humility,sabr,shukr,zikr,zuhd,tawba,taqwa etc.
All these things are known to us through ilm but the problem is HOW to internalize and inclucate these good attributes and how to leave sins. How to adorn oneself with the sifaat of momineen.
Hadith e Jibreel was about Islam,Iman,Ihsan. People develop a passion and love for ibadah instead of doing them out of an obligation and duty. So Tazkiyah aims to develop such feelings of deen in the momineen.How to do ibadah longingly and lovingly. How to be conscious of Allah during ibadah and be aware that Allah is gazing at them. Then, how to worship Allah as if you see Him. How to get the qurb of Allah SWT. How to become muqarrab of Allah SWT. How to get a deep,intimate awareness and maarifat of Allah SWT.
The beginning is tawbah. We can only do tawbah when we become sick of our current state and heedlessness and ghaflah. The journey MUST be FROM something and TOWARDS something.
Tawbah includes remorse and regret for the sin. Feel the sting of that sin.
Sometimes the desire to do sin is greater than the regret so they go back to that sin. Eventually a person becomes numb and desensitized and eventually stops feeling remorse.
Sometimes the remorse is greater than the desire,so then the person moves to Istigfar(seeking forgiveness of Allah SWT) and to leave everything that connects one to that sin(the environment, the connectors,the friends, the source). Flee from the sin and flee from its memories and everything that reminds you of it. Make Hijrat from that sin. Prophylactic therapy. Toobu ilallAllah. Run away from the sin towards Allah.
There are words of doing tawbah in Quran and hadith but we need to feel those words. We need to feel what we are saying. Some students are weak and they need tutors to help them and that tutor is a shaykh who helps the student perform that tawbah and give him istaqamat and motivation and a road map. You can also make tawbah in your own heart personally but the problem is going back to sin the next day. Tawbah is a lifestyle and not just a moment. It is the lifestyle of Tawwaab. No sin takes place without tawbah following it.
Why do tawbah with someone?
We make tawbah to Allah WITH someone.. Tawbah ilalAllah ma-a rasool(Quran). Our deen doesn't take Prophet SAWW to a level like the Christians give to Jesus christ. He is not a source of salvation or redemption. The Prophet SAWW just took us on the journey of tazkiya. You just do baya with the tutor of taubah. We can be someone who make taubah with someone who made taubah with someone who made taubah with someone who eventually made taubah with a sahaba who made taubah with the Prophet SAWW. We can become part of that chain. It is neither fardh nor waajib and it is just an optional sunnah and there is zero sin if you don't do it. Sunnah ghayr moaqida means it is not emphasised. You may just miss out on some benefits. These are only emphasised so that people do not miss out on the benefits.
Haal is state.
Maqaam is station.
First you need to develop the halaat of the good attributes. To use that attribute in that situation. Then, to develop the halaat so repeatedly that it eventually becomes a maqam. For example, if you want to develop an attribute like Sabr or controlling anger, first you develop that state repeatedly in that situation where it is required, then you do it so repeatedly that you reach the station of Sabr and become from amongst the Sabireen. These are just fancy terms. Even the fazeelat of that station can be used to induce that attribute. E.g. the ayah about Sabr is reminded to you so that you become inseparable from sabr. These terms were not used by the Prophet SAWW but that does not matter because these phenomena are real no matter what term is used. New terms come up all the time, just like in Medical where a term carries an coean within itself. Developing a new term is not a sin. The mufassiroon use new terms all the time to explain Quran in so many volumes. Every generation has new tafasir and tafsir is a continous living discipline to explain things in new ways to combat new ideologies and new social evils and fitnas.
Tawheed is to live your life as if there is one Allah over you all the time. Tawheed does not mean a fancy definition. True Tawheed is to live your life according to it. Live your life according to the teachings of deen. The dawah to those teachings in the Quran and hadith, tasawwuf just tries to bring you closer to that dawah and to internalize it.
We have sold ourselves in uboodiyah of this dunya. We have sold ourselves to the world. We are so involved in hub-e-dunya. We have forgotten Uboodiyah of Allah. The second thing we are slaves to is our nafs. We have given in to our desires. We teach our children:jo dil karta hai wo karo. We don't say: jese Allah chahta hai wesay aap karen. We do tanqeed tanz aiteraz on tasawwuf and call it bidah. Although tasawwuf is all about riyaazat of nafs. Some auliya have fasted excessively aur adopted zuhd and we just criticise them and say that the sahaba never did that. We never appreciate that they went out of the way to fight against their nafs and took shaytaan as their enemy. If they said it was fardh upon others and made it binding and obligatory, then it would have been wrong and a bidah. But it was just their personal battle with Shaytaan. This was their way to fight their nafs. They did not try to outdo the Prophet SAWW. They were weaker so they worked harder. The weak students do the extra hours of homework.
How to bring a person into Uboodiyah of Allah?
To increase ibadah esp. Nafal ibadah e.g. Tahajjud, there is an immense benefit in it
The biggest tool is zikr of Allah and muhabbat and love for Allah. Then doing amal on sunnah and Quran becomes a joy on them, just like eating icecream is a joy for someone.
Tasawwuf is a journey from Nafs e ammara to nafs e mutmainna. The goal is to become pleased with shariyah and doing amal out of pleasure. You would have felt that pleasure in Ramadan, when you are completely mutmain on shariyah and don't have any desire of breaking the law and eating while fasting. When we become raazi with Allah, Allah becomes raazi with us and sends peace on us.
Introducing Ahl al sunnah wal jama'ah
Who take their tafseer from mufassiroon, hadith from muhaditheen, understanding of hadith from ulema of hadith, understanding of laws from fuqha, principle of quranic interpretation from ulema of usul e tafsir, hadith sciences from ulema of usul ul hadith, science of fiqh from usul e fiqh, tazkiya from the mashaiykh of tasawwuf.
It is very diverse with divergent opinions. We accept all of the views of the scholars because they were reputed for their taqwa and ikhlaas so we will not suspect their intentions. We may give preference to one opinion over the other by doing ijma and following jamaat and the majority opinion. We will still not negate as false the minority opinion.
Understanding of fiqh and usul e fiqh
There are two approaches. A madhab based approach to fiqh and an approach where we don't follow madhabs. Ahl al sunnah wal jamaah have a madhab based approach. Salafis/Wahabis/Ahle hadith are those who do not follow a single madhab, but we should not these terms. We should just say non-madhab approach. We should not label anyone.
If something is crystal clear from Quran and Sunnah, we directly do amal on it and no fiqh is required to follow that at all. No interface is required. Everybody agrees on that.
Everybody agrees that soome verses and ahadith exist open to multiple interpretation. Sometimes there are ahadith in contradiction to each other. The contradictory ahadith may both be permissible but you will still have to pick one e.g. the issue of rafa yadain. Usul ul fiqh unites the divergent texts and opinions. Every school has different tools.
Non-madhab approach thinks that the issue becomes crystal clear when a sahih hadith is brought on the table and it can wipe away all the other ahadith on this matter. Their approach is more individualised. They think there is no need to argue further on the hadith as it is clear.
Madhab based approach looks at all the ahadith on the issue and don't consider one sahih hadith as enough to solve an issue. e.g. Imam malik RA looked at the amal of ehel e madinah to pick between two different ahadith.
e.g. Imam nawawi and Ibne Hajar followed the Shafi school of thought
e.g. Ibn Qayyim and Ibn e Tayyimah were also majorly Hanbli and they only diverged in around 10-15% of the matters based on their scholarly opinions
Understanding of bid'ah
Bidah literally means innovation.
To define bidah, we need to set a departure point. Beyond what point will something enter the realm of bidah?
The famous hadith says that every innovation is bidah and every bidah is going astray and every zalala is going into hellfire.
If we take the literal meaning, then everything will become bidah include tafaseer and books on hadith and noorani qaidah and what not. There will be no development in deen if we call everything a bidah because everything will be new
There are 5 types of bidah and none are proven from the Prophet SAWW
1-Wajib - e.g. adding harakaat to Quran for tajweed
2- Mustahib(recommended)- e.g. usool and hadith sciences and tafaseer etc. It is recommended because it increases our understanding
3-Jaiyz(permissible) e.g. designing masaajid or home in a way different from the Prophet SAWW
4-Makruh(disliked) e.g. build ornate and expensive masaajid because the ummah has other important priorities. It is not haraam because it is allowed if somebody possesses the halal means for it.
5-Haraam- which goes against shariyah and Quran This is how we specify the bidah in the above hadith
Can we do any new ibadah which was not done by the Prophet SAWW?
There is unanimous opinion that we cannot do any such fardh or wajib ibadah
We CAN do nafal ibadah as was done by the salaf and sahaba
Nafal ibadah mainly consists of dua and dhikr. There are some duas in the Quran and hadith and some that the salaf made on their own.Can we make a dua on our own in your own language and words? Yes, everybody in the world does it. e.g. Imam Sudais makes his own dua e qunoot in witr. He makes his own duas in Arabic language in his own wordings(not from Quran or sunnah). That is permissible. Allah has not specified a particular way to make dua so it is open for expansion. The same applies to dhikr.
How to identify the limits?
It should not be khilaaf e sharah
It should not go against aiteqaad
It should not be elevated form its actual level
Did the sahaba or salaf/tabaeen/taba tabaeen do that extra nafl ibadah? If it is permissible for them, it is also permissible for us within the limits
Do not reprimand anyone who does not do that ibadah
Do not elevate it to the level of Sunnah. (It is only jaiyz/permissible. It will only get sawaab if there is something to support it e.g. a zaeef hadith)
Do not specify what Allah has left unspecified
(You can do an invidiual amal on your own with ihtemam on a particular time etc. within these boundaries)
Should not think that doing it collectively is better than doing it individually
How to prevent it from escalating to biddah?Leave it occasionally esp. on a collective level
How to deal with biddah?
You need to use hikmat. If they are genuinely confused,deal with their confusions
If they do it out of ishq e rusool,redirect their ishq e rusool to something else.
“My Companions are like the stars, whichever of them you follow you will be rightly guided”There is a hadith that Sahaba are like stars (this is zaeef in the majority of chains, very few are mauzoo or hasan so it is safe to call it zaeef). Allah says in the Quran that Allah is pleased with the sahaba and the sahaba are pleased with him. This implies that they WERE rightly guided but people try to reject this hadith completely.
The hadith in Muslim and Ahmad narrated by Abu Musa al-Ash`ari whereby the Prophet,
, said: "The stars are trust-keepers for the heaven, and when the stars wane, the heaven is brought what was promised (i.e. of the corruption of the world and the coming of the Day of Judgment); and I am a trust-keeper for my Companions, so when I go my Companions will be brought what was promised them (i.e. of fitna and division); and my Companions are trustkeepers for my Community, so when they go my Community will be brought what was promised to you (i.e. following hawâ and vying for dunyâ)."Examples of New Ibadat by the Sahaba During the life of Prophet(SAWW)
1- Hazrat Bilal RA
Abu Harariah (radillahu anhu) reported the Prophet (salallahu alaihi wasalaam) said, "At the time of the Fajr prayer the Prophet asked Bilal, "Tell me of the best deed you did after embracing Islam, for I heard your footsteps in front of me in Paradise." Bilal replied, "I did not do anything worth mentioning except that whenever I performed ablution during the day or night, I prayed after that ablution as much as was written for me."
Prophet SAWW heard the footsteps of Bilal RA in Jannah so he asked him about the deed for which he was most hopeful for reward
He said that he never performed Wuzu without praying 2 nafal. I never broke wuzu except that I remade it. These 2 nawafil were Tahhiyatul wudhu and Bilal RA was the first one who started it and Prophet SAWW approved of it and said that he got jannah because of these rakaah.
Ibne Hajar Asqalani= In fathul bari he writes that ijtehad is permissible in terms of timing of actionss.
2- Rafaa Ibne Rafay
Rafa`a bin Rafie` Az-Zirqi said: "One day we were praying behind the Prophet Muhammed sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam and when he raised his head from the position of ruku`, he said: 'Sami Allahu liman hamidah' [Allah hears the one who praises Him] A man from behind said: 'Rabbanna wa la kal hamd -- hamdan katheeran tayyiban mubarakan fih [Our Lord, all praise is due to You -- praise which is abundant, excellent and blessed...] When we finished [the salat] the Prophet Muhammed sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said: 'Who spoke?' The man said: 'I did'. He said, 'Indeed I saw some 30- something Angels all scuffling to see which one of them could record it.'" [Bukhari & Muslim]
Prophet SAWW was leading Maghrib prayers. He said Rabbana lakal hamd hamdan kaseeran tayyaban mubarakan loudly. The prophet SAWW never said this. So this showed the sahaba were not bound to follow everything in nafal ibadah and not add anything. The angels were competing to write down in the way you praised Allah,the prophet SAWW said later. But only that thing can be added which does not contradict Prophet SAWW.
3-"While we were praying with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), a man among the people said: 'Allahu Akbaru kabira, wal-hamdu Lillahi kathira, wa subhan-Allahi bukratan was asila (Allah is Most Great and much praise be to Allah and glorified be Allah at the beginning and end of the day).' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Who is the one who said such and such?' A man among the people said: 'I did, O Messenger of Allah.' He said: ' I like it,' and he said words to the effect that the gates of the Heavens had been opened for it." Ibn Umar said: "I never stopped saying it since I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say that."
A sahaba came late in prayer and said Allahu akbar kabeera, Alhamdulillahi kaseera, subhanAllahi wa bukratan wa aseela. He said this on our own. Prophet SAWW said I heard the gates of Jannah open for you. Takbeer is fardh and a sahaba added something in that fardh element.
4-Sahih Bukhari
In a hadith narrated by Aisha (ra), the Prophet (s.a.w)
صلى الله عليه وسلم once appointed a man in command of a brigade and this man was leading his men in prayer and he used to conclude his prayers by reading surah qul hu-wallaahu ‘ahad. Upon their return, they mentioned this fact to the prophet(صلى الله عليه وسلم He (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in turn said: “ask him why he did that.” they asked the man, and he replied: “because it contains the attributes of the most compassionate and i love reading it.” the prophet (pbuh) then said:“inform him that allah loves him.”
Prophet SAWW dispatched a sahaba as Ameer of a lashkar of jihad. Every time he prayed, he recited Surah Ikhlas at the end of every Qiraat. The prophet SAWW was told that he recited this because he loves Al Rahman. The prophet SAWW said that tell him that Allah SWT loves him.
5-Sahih Bukhari
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (رضى الله تعالى عن narrates that a person heard a man reciting Qul huwa Allahu ahad (Sura al-Ikhlas). He was repeating it again and again. In the morning he went to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and related this to him. This person considered this [repeated recitation of Surah al-ikhlas] to be insignificant. Rasullulah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ therefore said: “I take an oath by that Being in whose control is my life , it certainly equals one third of the Qur’an
[Bukhari]
[Bukhari]
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (رضى الله تعالى عنه reported that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said to his Companions, “Are any of you unable to recite a third of the Qur’an in a night?” That was difficult for them and they said, “Which of us is able to do that, Messenger of Allah?” He said, “[The surah] ‘Say: He is Allah, Absolute Oneness, Allah, the Everlasting Sustainer of all’ (112) constitutes a third of the Qur’an.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6:61 #534, Riyad as-Salihin by Imam an-Nawawi Ch.183 #1010)
Ibne Khuzri- one sahaba heard another reciting Surah Ikhlas over and over again. Prophet SAWW said that Surah Ikhlas is a third of the Quran.6-Ruqiya
| Sahih Bukhari Hadith (Volume 7, Number 632) Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) |
|---|
| Some of the companions of the Prophet (prayers and peace be upon him) came across a tribe amongst the tribes of the Arabs, and that tribe did not entertain them. While they were in that state, the chief of that tribe was bitten by a snake (or stung by a scorpion). They said, (to the companions of the Prophet (prayers and peace be upon him) ), "Have you got any medicine with you or anybody who can treat with Ruqya?" The Prophet's (prayers and peace be upon him) companions said, "You refuse to entertain us, so we will not treat (your chief) unless you pay us for it." So they agreed to pay them a flock of sheep. One of them (the Prophet's (prayers and peace be upon him) companions) started reciting Surat-al-Fatiha and gathering his saliva and spitting it (at the snake-bite). The patient got cured and his people presented the sheep to them, but they said, "We will not take it unless we ask the Prophet (prayers and peace be upon him) (whether it is lawful)." When they asked him, he smiled and said, "How do you know that Surat-al-Fatiha is a Ruqya? Take it (flock of sheep) and assign a share for me." |
Doesn't this open the door for new bid'at and going overboard and getting into misguidance?Yes, there is a possibility of going overboard and of abusing this liberty that Allah has given us. But that possibility is also there in terms of interpretation of Quran and ahadith. Allah has left the room open for multiple possibilities at many places. Allah himself says in the Quran that he guides some people through it and misguides some through it. There are ambiguous things left in deen as a test by Allah and it is HIS hikmah. So when Allah has given an inch, we should not make it a mile and not go overboard. But we should not close that inch either. When Allah has not specified something, we should not close the door. Allah has left some flexibility in nafl ibadah and we should keep it flexible within the limits. Yes, some people misuse the deen and go overboard and there are such people everywhere, in deen in general and also in tasawwuf. Such people who misuse and misrepresent islam are everywhere. E.g. people do shirk on shrines of sufis etc, people even did tawaf naked in the ka'abah. Allah gives people the freedom to go astray because life is a test. The judgement will be in akhirah.
Importance of Zikr.
Why do we need to train our heart to do zikr of Allah SWT? Why didn't the sahaba need to do muraqabah etc? Why can't we simply do regular tilawat and nafl ibadah?Why go this extra mile?
Because we are so mentally absent during ibadah and we don't even know what we are reciting. We have NO feelings during ibadah. The sahaba did not have this sickness so they did not need to do it. The sahaba did not have this illness. They had the feelings. This is a new disease so it requires a new cure. People don't even remember what rakah they are on or what they are reciting or what it means. This is why a new nafl zikr was designed which did not go against shariah. Maybe it would work?
The Prophet SAWW used to climb to Cave hira and seek Allah SWT. He used to sit in contemplation and zikr to seek Allah SWT. IF our hearts have become so dead then we also need to contemplate and reflect and revive those feelings in our heart.
Make zikr of Allah inside of yourself,humbly,silently. This is a verse of Quran but Allah did not tell how to do it inside. With time, this method developed and this exercise was developed to practice zikr. It is neither fardh nor wajib but it is just a tried and tested method,like noorani qaida. We can even come up with our own way but since we have a well trodden path available, it is better to follow those techniques.
You should only engage in that amount of mujahida that does not affect your ability to do ibadah. For example, Imam ghazzali RA used to prescribe fasting as a cure for gluttony, but we do not have the strength to fast excessively, in fact if we fast we will not have the strength to do any ibadah. So we have to do it according to our own strength. So the teachings change over time. Zikr is the lightest of ibadaat. First do zikr, then do kasrat e tilawat, then do salaah/nawafil. Salaah consists of zikr+tilawat. Zikr is the POLISH of the heart.
For everything there is a polish, and the polish for the hearts is the Zikr (remembrance) of Allah.
There is no qatae definite method of doing zikr. Allah just asks us to do zikr in the Quran. There are only zanni methods. Why follow them? If somebody recites Quran and follows sunnah and does sunnah zikr and that is enough to reach the state of qalb e saleem,then that's great. He does not need to go through the process of zikr then. But if he is unable to achieve it without practice of zikr, then he should find a solution.
Is zikr of the heart better or zikr of the tongue?
If you are mentally absent during zikr of the tongue, then its better to do zikr of the heart to develop the ability to focus. Then move on to zikr of the tongue. Zikr is a form of praise of Allah and description of his attributes. It depends on what state the person is at that moment. Tilawah and sunnah ibadaat are obviously superior but if it is with an empty heart then practicing zikr is more important.
Labels, Tareeqah and Silsilah
Labels don't matter. What matters is the reality. Labels are just given by people, but don't lose their true meaning in the labels.
e.g. Qadri simply means those who learned tazkiyah from Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jillani. It is NOT a sect. It is just like Aitchisonians, Kcites, Luminites,Grammarians, Iqbalians etc. People just use labels to show their affiliation. If these labels begin to lead to discord then just give up those labels. There is nothing wrong in following Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jillani's teachings. We just take advice and help from the one who has the same teacher as we have, that does not mean that we don't give credit to other teachers or think they are wrong. A professor can design a course and obviously he can teach the subject he learnt better than any other subject. People who study from that professor will teach others on a similar pattern and the same syllabus. But it's WRONG if we think all other ways of teaching are wrong.
Wilayat,Nabuwwat,Fanaa and Baqaa
Nabuwwat is Prophethood. It is far more superior than Wilayat.
Both these words are in the Quran.
Wilayat is not different from Nabuwwat in the following things: All the anbiya were also auliya and friends of Allah. Nobody can ever reach the level of nabuwwat. We must only aspire to reach his wilayat.
Prophet SAWW was a wali from the moment he was born. His miracles began from childhood. He also adopted seclusion in Cave Hira before nabuwwat.
FANAA AND BAQAA
Fanaa means to lose yourself in something and to become lost in remembrance of Allah SWT. The Prophet SAWW used to become fanaa fillah in tahajjud and salaah. Then he experienced baqaa when this state remained even after he got up from salaah. His connection with Allah continued even when he did worldly things. It means to lose awareness of yourself and gain 100% awareness of Allah SWT. Tahajjud and other forms of ibadah are a form of fanaa. Ashaab e kahf went to the cave to reach fanaa. You will never want to remember the world again once you forget it. You will never want to forget Allah once you truly remember Him. But the sunnah will take you out of this state.
Baqaa is 100 percent absorption in deen while remaining 100 percent engaged in dunya. That is the true sunnah. Rahbaniyat and cutting yourself off from the world is not sunnah. Engagement in the world is FOR the sake of Allah IN the name of Alah. That itself is zikr, even if you are doing business and worldly dealings, as long as it is in accordance with Shariyah. You get back to the world for Allah's sake. So it cannot distract you from Allah's zikr.
We learn fanaa and baqaa when we go pray salaah and return to the world from salaah. Practice fanaa 5 times a day. Try to make dua after every ibadah because it is a time of qabuliyat, Pray for istaqamat and baraqah.
Zikr means to disconnect from the world and disconnect with yourself and connect to Allah SWT. Our heart is disconnected during ibadah that is why we don't get the full barakah of it. Our heart is wandering and absent and blank during ibadah. The cure for ghaflah is zikr
How do these apply to a non-Nabi? When we start from scratch we have 100 percent involvement in dunya and 0 involvement in Allah. When we become 100 percent absorbed in Allah and zero percent involved in dunya, that is state of fanaa. Haal e fanaa is to feel that state. Maqaam e fanaa is that person who can enter that state at will. When they read Takbir e tehreema in salaah, they immediately enter that state e.g. a sahabi was shot with arrows and he did not even feel that arrow being pulled out during salaah. that was fanaa!
Zikr is an exercise to achieve the state of becoming lost in Allah SWT.
True fanaa is that which does not involve anything against shariyah and is followed by baqaa.
What brings a person back from fanaa to baqaa? The responsibility of doing khidmah of deen and dawah of deen, AND of fulfilling worldly obligations in accordance with shariyah(it is also a form of zikr).
The sahaba did not need fana and baqaa because suhbah and company of the Prophet SAWW was their way of fanaa because his company disconnected them from all worldly distractions. Baqaa was already there because they did all the work of deen.
We need to focus more on sunnah because that is the biggest mujahida in this age. Then we can some extra nafal ibadah in the day. The bulk of life should be given to khidmat and dawah of deen. It is a way to get closeness to Allah.
Some people become stuck in the state of fanaa and cannot enter baqaa. As long as people follow a guide, they will not get overboard in this path InshaaAllah. We should not follow these examples:
e.g. Mansoor Al Hallaaj became so lost in fanaa that he ecstatically uttered Ana Al-Haq.
Laa ilaha illlah means Laa marghoobii ilalAllah Laa mahboobi ilalAllah Laa Maboodi ilalAllah
He became so oblivious to everything and so lost in Allah that he entered a dreamlike state and he could not get out of it. He said everything is Allah yeh bhi Allah woh bhi Allah mein bhi Allah. He did not mean this in reality and it was not a theology presented by him. He accepted his death sentence so that people realized that his ecstatic utterance is wrong because apparently, on face value it was a word of kufr. It was a WEAKNESS on his part. This was not a union of Allah because there can never be union between Khaaliq and makhlooq such that a person becomes Allah or anything near to it. He and his teacher Junaid Baghdadi signed the death sentence because it would have misled many people even if he had repented without getting any punishment. He would have left others confused.
Ibn Al-Arabi gave concept of Wahdat ul Wujood(Oneness of being). All beings are from Allah. We are all united in being the creation of Allah. Some people accused him of kufr e.g. Ibn Tayyimah.
The second attitude is to take those words of his which are compliant with shariah.They have tried to have husne zan and find excuses for him and give him the benefit of the doubt. Because a lot of things he said had double meanings. e.g. Imam ghazaali
Shaykh Ahmed Sirhindi said that he was not a kafir but he made mistakes and we don't accept his mistakes. But he was a person for ibadah and imaan and zikr and he passed away in the state of imaan. We hope Allah will forgive him for his mistakes. Then he wrote a critique on his mistakes so that nobody else would make that mistake
Some people believed in the oneness of being
Some thought the world and Allah was one
Some thought the world was a shadow of Allah, even shadow has likeness to Allah so this concept is also wrong
The correct view is that the world is absolutely separate and distinct from Allah SWT and there can never be any likeness to Allah SWT.
Ibn Al Arabi had this false perception because he was so lost in Allah. He thought in the oneness of being. He did not think that he became EQUAL to Allah.
Wahdat Al-Shuhood is the actual term. Allah becomes closer to our jugular vein. He becomes closer to us than our own selves. It is just a perception(Wahdat ul Shuhood - Shahadat) and not a reality. It is an experience which cannot be put into words. You can never eliminate that farq. It is just a perception.
Rabiya Basriya RA walked around Basra with a branch of fire. Those people who are worshipping Allah desiring Jannah or out of fear of Jahannum, I will set fire on Jannah or put out the flames of Jahannum. This is the wrong concept. Allah invites us to Jannah himself and to a fear of Jahannum. It should be WITH the desire of pleasing Allah. You do not need to have zero desire for Jannah and escape from Jahannum, but it just needs to be added to the feeling of seeking qurb and pleasure of Allah.
Kashf and Ilhaam
Kashf - Something that was unseen becoming seen or unknown becoming known
Kashf is when you say that Allah opened my heart to something. Allah opened doors of understanding for me.
e.g. Kashf could be about zikr or some ayah etc. But it does not become binding on anyone. It is just a zanni thing, but it will probably still be better than our understanding of it because they are on a higher level than us.
Ilhaam- Allah inspires us with something, NOT revelation(Revelation is only for Anbiya). Ilhaam is for Auliya and it still continues. e.g. even Istikhara is an Ilhaam. We ask Allah to inspire our heart. ( Before Istikhara,look at the ground realities and analyse everything according to the hidaya Allah gave us, then do mashwara with someone,then do istikhara). Istikhara arouses an inclination that is NOT due to any apparent sabab/reason.
Kashf and ilhaam are synonymous but kashf is mainly about ilm and ilhaam is about emotion/inclination/idea mainly. Kashf can be used when a person has tried all ijtehad and arguments about a matter and still is not clear about something,then kashf is when your heart opens up to the answer provided you have ikhlaas and taqwa
Shaykh Ahmed Sirhndi RA says:
Kashf and ilham CANNOT be used to determine what is right or wrong or halal/haram. Everybody has to follow the opinion of the jurists/mujtahids/shariyah. These people remain on the same level as they were and kashf and ilhaam does not raise anyone to a level above the law
The sign of the validity of an experience is that it is in accordance with shariyah and it is not done with anything that is impermissible in shariyah e.g. music and dance
If we think that Fanaa and baqaa are in any way a fusion between Allah and man, then that is blasphemous distortion of faith.
Real fanaa and baqaa is believing in Tawheed of Allah and living in his obedience. Aything beyond that is WRONG.
Some famous scholars who were students of Tasawwuf:
They were not the masters of tasawwuf but they were students. They were masters in their own fields, just like a cardiologist cannot be a dermatologist,an ophthalmologist cannot be a gastroenterologist. So they were specialists in their own fields but they had a lot of interest in tasawwuf.
Ibn Tayyimah and Ibn Qayyim
Imam Ghazaali
Imam Malik
Imam Nawawi
Ibn e Hajar
Jalaludin Sayuti
The need for a Shaykh and Baya
Look for these qualities in the Shaykh: He should not follow his own passions instead of revelation and he should do zikr of Allah SWT.
The seed of the love of Allah is within every human being. It is planted in any heart. There is one seed which has a gardener and there is another which has no gardener. The gardener will trim away the weeds and nourish the seed and protect the plant. The other seed will just grow wild in the jungle.
This process used to be very informal in early times. Hadith transmission also used to be very informal in the time of Sahaba, and similar was the process of learning from the Prophet SAWW. You could just sit there and join the ranks. But with time, the process became more formal e.g. in the time of Imam Bukhari RA, there were some people who sat only as auditors and there were some students who became regular and were registered and given the permission to transmit the ahadith.
Baya is used for taking a pledge/oath. When you want to make yourself firm in intention by taking a pledge. It has been used in 4 meanings in Qur'an:
1-
Bayt ul imaan - e.g. bayt e uqbah. Pledge to follow Islam and leave Kufr
Pledge was WITH the Prophet SAWW TO Allah ON Imaan
2-
Bayt ul Jihaad/Bayt alal maut-
e.g. Hudaiybiya. A baya was taken to fight even if death overcame you.
3-Bayt ul Hijrah
It is mentioned in hadith. Bayt on making Hijrah to madinah and not coming back without permission.
4-Bayt ul Tawbah
They came themselves to the Prophet SAWW to make tawbah(the women). In the hadith, the Prophet SAWW himself invited them to take bayah with him.
It is a tawbah TO Allah but someone is just a witness/guide/tutor on that tawbah so that we become firm on our intentions.
This bayah is not fardh or wajib. It is just a sunnah ghayr moqida(No sin if you do not follow this sunnah)
It is NOT specific to the Prophet SAWW. Because: We do not have the christian concept of redemption and salvation THROUGH the Prophet SAWW. The Ulema are the wurasa and inheritors of Anbiya and this is part of the Prophetic model of Tazkiyah. AND it is NOT part of the khasusiyaat and specialities of Prophet SAWW which have been compiled separately.
The Shaykh is not the end but he is just the means and just an assistant. The bayah does not have any conditions and does not change everything. It is just a sunnah way of doing tawbah and making a commitment. It will invite Allah's mercy. It gives us a guide, a gardener and a coach. That person has more experience in getting people out of their lows, just like an experienced specialist doctor has experience in treating patients. And when you enroll in something, you become more serious and committed. You should have compatibility with the Shaykh and you should make sure he is well respected and knowledgeable. If it's not working for you and if you don't feel more inclined towards Allah SWT, then reconsider your tutor.
The most beloved of actions in Allah's sight are those actions done regularly, even if they are few. (This hadith is about nawafil because faraidh are obligatory)
Things to do:
1-Muraqabah(Remembering Allah only/exclusively)
Muraqabah comes from ra qa ba
Raqeeb means that Allah maintains a close watch/vigil on the believers
Allah is with us like a Mirsaad(A hunter/predator when he is hunting his prey, looks at its prey with an extremely intent gaze. Allah looks at us in a similar way)
In Muraqabah, we reciprocate and try to remember Allah with the same intensity
This ayah refers to remembering Allah exclusively and leaving all trade/worldly matters. Focus only on Allah.
Muraqabah is from Baab Mufa'ala. Anything from this baab is two-way e.g. Musahifa, Muqatala,Mujahida.
Allah is vigilant over us so we should also think about Allah intently/vigilantly(two-way communication/connection). Allah is looking at every single person all the time. We need to reciprocate it.
Muraqabah refers to cutting ourselves off from everything. It requires disconnection from worldly things and turning towards Allah exclusively. This is an exercise and practice that has a basis in the Quran.
The ideal way to do it is to close your eyes and sit in a relaxed manner. Make zikr of your Lord inside yourself. Think only of Allah and do not think of the random thoughts that cross your mind. But we have a tendency to get distracted if we become completely silent. A thousand things can cross our mind. So we focus on Allah while contemplating to ward off the thoughts that come in our mind.
(1) A'isha said that Rasulullah saw said: "The deeds most loved by Allah (are those)done regularly, even if they are small." (Bukhari, Muslim)
Tabattal refers to attaching ourselves to Allah and turning away from everything else.
Try to do it at least twice a day in the morning and evening. The longer you do it, the more beneficial it is. The more the sugar,the sweeter the dish will be.
Set a bare minimum for yourself that you have to do no matter what. Maintain that level with consistency. When you miss it, make up for it.
Use your free time wisely.Pick a time when you can focus more e.g. tahajjud, isha, fajr. It is very easy to do it with any salaah. It is great for preparing your heart and mind for salaah.
The best way to end it is to recite the kalimah and make dua at the end as duas are accepted more after any ibadah.
Even if you sleep during muraqabah, it will still be a part of ibadah. But you should be striving to stay awake. Wudhu and facing the qiblah is preferable but not necessary.
Some people feel certain feelings e.g. tickling, trembling,vibration etc. but we should know that it is nice to feel something but that is not the purpose.
The purpose is just to draw closer to Allah and slavehood of Allah and it is not dependent on any feelings.
Do it in whatever posture comfortable for you, but BE CONSISTENT. The more gaps you have, you have to start all over again. The clock is reset at zero. NEVER let there be a zero anyday, even if it may be just 5 minutes.
You can start by making a verbal niyyah too if that helps you but that is not the point. The main point is focusing your heart.
It's better to start with smaller sittings and then with time you can increase the duration of each setting. The longer you do it,the deeper you go.
Closing the eyes is only a tool to forget and turn off the world, nothing else. In salaah, the sunnah of Nabi kareem SAWW was to keep his eyes open.
Bring zikr back to all the spaces so don;t restrict your zikr to any particular place. You should light up every corner of every room with zikr
When we remember Allah, Allah remembers us. For everything there is a polish and the polish of the heart is the remembrance of Allah. So we believe that Allah cleanses and polishes our heart by remembering us when WE remember him. Allah purifies,purges and softens our hearts and fills our hearts with love. So, we should constantly remember Allah and yearn for His mercy. Our zikr invites Allah's zikr of us and Allah makes mention of us in the heavens. Out of gratitude, we say Allah. We should think that Allah's name has barakah. We listen to our heart calling out to Allah. So we do zikr by thinking of Allah and the purpose is to invite Allah's zikr of us and in gratitude we say, Allah Allah Allah.
Doing silent zikr is like charging our phone. Our phone gets drained by all the worldly interactions so we need some time with ourselves and Allah to recharge. Everybody needs to unwind and recharge.
We attach the bicycle of our hearts to the mercedes of the Shaykh's heart in group Muraqabah. We get the reflection of the light and noor falling on the Shaykh's heart during Muraqabah. It is part of the concept of nisbat. The light is coming through all the lenses from Allah to Prophet SAWW and then through all the Quloob of the mashaiykh. Sometimes, poetry is also recited to soften the hearts for zikr.
STAGES:
1-ATTUNING
Our heart is spiritually paralysed because it has forgotten Allah for years. So the first stage of Muraqabah is just to tune our heart to Allah. It is like a spiritual therapy. It has been empty of zikr for so long and full of sinful feelings for so long that it takes time to discover our qalb.We humans have a habit of looking for instant success. Initially, we might not feel anything. We will just start off by chaining ourselves to the musalla(having Istiqlal e tabiyyat)and sitting there even if we do not feel anything. The hardest part is starting off and forcing yourself to sit.
2- STRUGGLING
The second level is to do Mujahida and struggle against the thoughts and to try and think about Allah and then your mind wanders off again and again. You may lose the battle but you should still keep trying. That's your job. The coach only gets upset when the boxer gets knocked out and never gets back up again. We just need to get back up. Keep trying. We have to give more time. The more time we give, the easier it will become. Try to do it one hour a day in a go or by breaking it up.
3- ENJOYING
The third level is Istighraaq(getting lost in Allah's zikr and thinking about Allah). It will not happen throughout the time you are trying. Sometimes, you will feel it just for a minute. Sometimes for few minutes and sometimes you won't feel even for a minute. It needs istiqamah. Maybe it will take months and years. Even if you do not feel it and you still keep trying, you get even more reward.
Shuru may zikr dawaa hota hai, baad may ghazaa ban jati hai, aur phir lazzat. Initially it is a medicine, then nourishment and then delight. And He is with you wherever you are. You feel his company and companionship.
FEELINGS YOU EXPERIENCE:
When Allah is mentioned, their hearts start fluttering. The rooh is like a bird and the body is like a cage so when the bird flaps its wings, the cage rattles and we might feel some fluttering of our spiritual qalb. It is Taharruk.
People may even physically feel some pressure or fluttering. Then people might feel haraarat and a feeling of warmth from that zikr.
The third feeling is tazakkur. Your awareness is focused on Allah's name.
Then people feel tabattal(remembering Allah exclusively). When we think of Allah's name, we remember Allah Himself. They might not even remember what they are saying because they become lost in Allah Himself.
The next stage is a delight in following shariyah and sunnah.
Sins numb the ability to perceive these feelings.. Idraak and self consciousness requires a relatively pure heart. A sign that it is successful is that you get feelings outside muraqabah, your taqwa,focus,haya,amal,relations and everything related to deen goes up. The sign of successful zikr is a spiritual awareness and actions outside that state of zikr. The person gets delight out of following sunnah and shariyah. The shariyah becomes part of his tabiyyat. At this stage, istaqamah is needed. Istaqamah is bigger than any miracle.
2- Wuquf e Qalbi
Having thoughts,feelings,remembrance of Allah SWT, Absence of ghaflah is the presence of zikr.
1-The most basic stage is to remember Allah at the start of every activity,make niyyat at the beginning. It's like switching the light bulb on and then the light continues to glow. When you do wuquf e qalbi, you become watchful of every activity you are doing and make a niyyah before doing everything so the whole day is counted as ibadah this way,
2-The second stage is to remember Allah SWT in all the gaps between any activity they are doing. Usually people check their phone in gaps or stare out of the window or do such random things. These people fill these gaps with zikr of Allah SWT. This is a form of introspection. This will help you realize how many gaps you have in your day. Social media fills all these gaps and doesn't allow us to think.
3-Third stage is Istihzaar, ALWAYS remembring Allah. Such people are not distracted by any trade or commerce. It takes years to reach that stage. We need to become spiritual athletes.
3-Qur'an
When even someone calls us from an unknown number, we pick it up because we are so curious that who is calling us. Why aren't we curious about the KNOWN Creator who has been calling us? How can we claim to be too busy for Quran? What kind of a life this is? Do tawbah from such a life
Recite at least a quarter juzz daily with consistency.
4-Istigfaar
Those who say they don't have time for istigfaar are saying they don't have time to say sorry to Allah. You have time to say sorry to the whole creation, you don't have time for Allah? We say sorry to makhloooq until they become pleased with us again, then why don't you take out time to apologize to Allah? Say sorry min kulli zanbin. Be sorry for everything.
5-Durood
How can you forget the one who never forgot you in dua? How can you forgot the one you owe your deen to?
6-Leaving sins
A diamond in the gutter will never be clean as long as it is in the gutter. Even if you wash it with itr or zamzam, it will remain dirty. It might become clear only as long as the water is flowing but the moment it stops flowing, it will be dirty again. So zikr alone is not enough if you don't leave sins and you are still in the sewer.
7-Raabita/Connection/Suhbah
Either live suhbah through talks and company, or listen via internet, or recodings.
Some tips: Generally try to write once every 2-4 weeks and as and when needed. Write about muraqabah, your focus, how long you're doing it,what lesson you are on. Write about your ability to do wuquf e qalbi. Write about your spiritual condition and anything you are struggling with.
LESSONS
There are 5 main lataiyf.
Why didn't the sahaba RA do this? Why do we have to do this if they didn't do this? They had nabi kareem SAWW so they did not need so many methods and these developed over time. Who needs the lamp when you have the sun? We don't need to scrub when the sun can shine and clear everything. Nobody claims that these are derived from sahaba RA, and methods of purification are different in different groups. Some people do loud zikr and try to do beat the impurities out of their chests, some people oppose their nafs to do tazkiyah.
QALB
Physical heart is closer to center of chest and spiritual heart qalb is closest to the outer side of chest. Understand it on the basis of trust and later feel it with experience.
Lust is here.By making zikr you purify that part of your heart. You retain only the pure part of the feelings remove the impurities e.g. unlawful lust is eliminated and lawful desire remains which is within the boundaries of shariah.
RUH- anger lies here.
Similarly, unlawful anger vanishes and lawful anger for the haqq and deen remains, the ghayrah remains, and it is this ghayrah that makes us fight for deen.
SIRR - materialistic greed, love for dunya, hirs
Greedy for akhirah,amaal and sunnah is the lawful and healthy form of greed. It motivates them to do efforts to please Allah SWT.
Hirs for dunya is the unlawful impure form of greed.
KHAFI - unlawful envy,jealousy,bukhal,malice(gill) - all hostile feelings for others.
Those people who have purified their khafi can get along with everyone. They are like the earth and can mix ill all kinds of soil. They get along with everyone.
AKHFAA- what people keep most hidden
Arrogance and pride
. Ujab means vanity and conceit(viewing yourself as something). Kibr(you view yourself to be better than others). Takabbur(viewing yourself as something and better than others)
When you have a lot of talents, it is very hard to be humble. The biggest quality of nabi kareem SAWW was his humility and aajzi.
There are different lessons for different lataif. Every lesson does general tazkiyah, like a flowing stream which trickles and waters every flower. The effect of tazkiyah is leaving the act of most or all sins and the highest level is leaving all feelings and desire/temptations of sin. As soon as the raindrop comes, the wiper wipes it away. That is how we should wipe away sins with tawbah.The power of sin still remains but the the act of sin disappears.
Look for the effects of muraqabah outside muraqabah. Muraqabah helps you do tazkiyah and it helps you focus better during your ibadah. You need to do zikr e kaseer and not zikr e qaleel. You have to keep digging. The more you dig the more gold you discover and the more your yaqeen increases as you see the gold :)
Because we are so mentally absent during ibadah and we don't even know what we are reciting. We have NO feelings during ibadah. The sahaba did not have this sickness so they did not need to do it. The sahaba did not have this illness. They had the feelings. This is a new disease so it requires a new cure. People don't even remember what rakah they are on or what they are reciting or what it means. This is why a new nafl zikr was designed which did not go against shariah. Maybe it would work?
The Prophet SAWW used to climb to Cave hira and seek Allah SWT. He used to sit in contemplation and zikr to seek Allah SWT. IF our hearts have become so dead then we also need to contemplate and reflect and revive those feelings in our heart.
Sahih International
Who remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], "Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
Sahih International
And remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with [complete] devotion/disconnect yourself from the world.(Surah Muzammil)
Sahih International
And remember your Lord within yourself in humility and in fear without being apparent in speech - in the mornings and the evenings. And do not be among the heedless.(Surah Aa'raf)You should only engage in that amount of mujahida that does not affect your ability to do ibadah. For example, Imam ghazzali RA used to prescribe fasting as a cure for gluttony, but we do not have the strength to fast excessively, in fact if we fast we will not have the strength to do any ibadah. So we have to do it according to our own strength. So the teachings change over time. Zikr is the lightest of ibadaat. First do zikr, then do kasrat e tilawat, then do salaah/nawafil. Salaah consists of zikr+tilawat. Zikr is the POLISH of the heart.
For everything there is a polish, and the polish for the hearts is the Zikr (remembrance) of Allah.
There is no qatae definite method of doing zikr. Allah just asks us to do zikr in the Quran. There are only zanni methods. Why follow them? If somebody recites Quran and follows sunnah and does sunnah zikr and that is enough to reach the state of qalb e saleem,then that's great. He does not need to go through the process of zikr then. But if he is unable to achieve it without practice of zikr, then he should find a solution.
Is zikr of the heart better or zikr of the tongue?
If you are mentally absent during zikr of the tongue, then its better to do zikr of the heart to develop the ability to focus. Then move on to zikr of the tongue. Zikr is a form of praise of Allah and description of his attributes. It depends on what state the person is at that moment. Tilawah and sunnah ibadaat are obviously superior but if it is with an empty heart then practicing zikr is more important.
Labels, Tareeqah and Silsilah
Labels don't matter. What matters is the reality. Labels are just given by people, but don't lose their true meaning in the labels.
e.g. Qadri simply means those who learned tazkiyah from Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jillani. It is NOT a sect. It is just like Aitchisonians, Kcites, Luminites,Grammarians, Iqbalians etc. People just use labels to show their affiliation. If these labels begin to lead to discord then just give up those labels. There is nothing wrong in following Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jillani's teachings. We just take advice and help from the one who has the same teacher as we have, that does not mean that we don't give credit to other teachers or think they are wrong. A professor can design a course and obviously he can teach the subject he learnt better than any other subject. People who study from that professor will teach others on a similar pattern and the same syllabus. But it's WRONG if we think all other ways of teaching are wrong.
Wilayat,Nabuwwat,Fanaa and Baqaa
Nabuwwat is Prophethood. It is far more superior than Wilayat.
Both these words are in the Quran.
Wilayat is not different from Nabuwwat in the following things: All the anbiya were also auliya and friends of Allah. Nobody can ever reach the level of nabuwwat. We must only aspire to reach his wilayat.
Prophet SAWW was a wali from the moment he was born. His miracles began from childhood. He also adopted seclusion in Cave Hira before nabuwwat.
FANAA AND BAQAA
Fanaa means to lose yourself in something and to become lost in remembrance of Allah SWT. The Prophet SAWW used to become fanaa fillah in tahajjud and salaah. Then he experienced baqaa when this state remained even after he got up from salaah. His connection with Allah continued even when he did worldly things. It means to lose awareness of yourself and gain 100% awareness of Allah SWT. Tahajjud and other forms of ibadah are a form of fanaa. Ashaab e kahf went to the cave to reach fanaa. You will never want to remember the world again once you forget it. You will never want to forget Allah once you truly remember Him. But the sunnah will take you out of this state.
Baqaa is 100 percent absorption in deen while remaining 100 percent engaged in dunya. That is the true sunnah. Rahbaniyat and cutting yourself off from the world is not sunnah. Engagement in the world is FOR the sake of Allah IN the name of Alah. That itself is zikr, even if you are doing business and worldly dealings, as long as it is in accordance with Shariyah. You get back to the world for Allah's sake. So it cannot distract you from Allah's zikr.
We learn fanaa and baqaa when we go pray salaah and return to the world from salaah. Practice fanaa 5 times a day. Try to make dua after every ibadah because it is a time of qabuliyat, Pray for istaqamat and baraqah.
Zikr means to disconnect from the world and disconnect with yourself and connect to Allah SWT. Our heart is disconnected during ibadah that is why we don't get the full barakah of it. Our heart is wandering and absent and blank during ibadah. The cure for ghaflah is zikr
How do these apply to a non-Nabi? When we start from scratch we have 100 percent involvement in dunya and 0 involvement in Allah. When we become 100 percent absorbed in Allah and zero percent involved in dunya, that is state of fanaa. Haal e fanaa is to feel that state. Maqaam e fanaa is that person who can enter that state at will. When they read Takbir e tehreema in salaah, they immediately enter that state e.g. a sahabi was shot with arrows and he did not even feel that arrow being pulled out during salaah. that was fanaa!
Zikr is an exercise to achieve the state of becoming lost in Allah SWT.
True fanaa is that which does not involve anything against shariyah and is followed by baqaa.
What brings a person back from fanaa to baqaa? The responsibility of doing khidmah of deen and dawah of deen, AND of fulfilling worldly obligations in accordance with shariyah(it is also a form of zikr).
The sahaba did not need fana and baqaa because suhbah and company of the Prophet SAWW was their way of fanaa because his company disconnected them from all worldly distractions. Baqaa was already there because they did all the work of deen.
We need to focus more on sunnah because that is the biggest mujahida in this age. Then we can some extra nafal ibadah in the day. The bulk of life should be given to khidmat and dawah of deen. It is a way to get closeness to Allah.
Some people become stuck in the state of fanaa and cannot enter baqaa. As long as people follow a guide, they will not get overboard in this path InshaaAllah. We should not follow these examples:
e.g. Mansoor Al Hallaaj became so lost in fanaa that he ecstatically uttered Ana Al-Haq.
Laa ilaha illlah means Laa marghoobii ilalAllah Laa mahboobi ilalAllah Laa Maboodi ilalAllah
He became so oblivious to everything and so lost in Allah that he entered a dreamlike state and he could not get out of it. He said everything is Allah yeh bhi Allah woh bhi Allah mein bhi Allah. He did not mean this in reality and it was not a theology presented by him. He accepted his death sentence so that people realized that his ecstatic utterance is wrong because apparently, on face value it was a word of kufr. It was a WEAKNESS on his part. This was not a union of Allah because there can never be union between Khaaliq and makhlooq such that a person becomes Allah or anything near to it. He and his teacher Junaid Baghdadi signed the death sentence because it would have misled many people even if he had repented without getting any punishment. He would have left others confused.
Ibn Al-Arabi gave concept of Wahdat ul Wujood(Oneness of being). All beings are from Allah. We are all united in being the creation of Allah. Some people accused him of kufr e.g. Ibn Tayyimah.
The second attitude is to take those words of his which are compliant with shariah.They have tried to have husne zan and find excuses for him and give him the benefit of the doubt. Because a lot of things he said had double meanings. e.g. Imam ghazaali
Shaykh Ahmed Sirhindi said that he was not a kafir but he made mistakes and we don't accept his mistakes. But he was a person for ibadah and imaan and zikr and he passed away in the state of imaan. We hope Allah will forgive him for his mistakes. Then he wrote a critique on his mistakes so that nobody else would make that mistake
Some people believed in the oneness of being
Some thought the world and Allah was one
Some thought the world was a shadow of Allah, even shadow has likeness to Allah so this concept is also wrong
The correct view is that the world is absolutely separate and distinct from Allah SWT and there can never be any likeness to Allah SWT.
Ibn Al Arabi had this false perception because he was so lost in Allah. He thought in the oneness of being. He did not think that he became EQUAL to Allah.
Wahdat Al-Shuhood is the actual term. Allah becomes closer to our jugular vein. He becomes closer to us than our own selves. It is just a perception(Wahdat ul Shuhood - Shahadat) and not a reality. It is an experience which cannot be put into words. You can never eliminate that farq. It is just a perception.
Rabiya Basriya RA walked around Basra with a branch of fire. Those people who are worshipping Allah desiring Jannah or out of fear of Jahannum, I will set fire on Jannah or put out the flames of Jahannum. This is the wrong concept. Allah invites us to Jannah himself and to a fear of Jahannum. It should be WITH the desire of pleasing Allah. You do not need to have zero desire for Jannah and escape from Jahannum, but it just needs to be added to the feeling of seeking qurb and pleasure of Allah.
Kashf and Ilhaam
Kashf - Something that was unseen becoming seen or unknown becoming known
Kashf is when you say that Allah opened my heart to something. Allah opened doors of understanding for me.
e.g. Kashf could be about zikr or some ayah etc. But it does not become binding on anyone. It is just a zanni thing, but it will probably still be better than our understanding of it because they are on a higher level than us.
Ilhaam- Allah inspires us with something, NOT revelation(Revelation is only for Anbiya). Ilhaam is for Auliya and it still continues. e.g. even Istikhara is an Ilhaam. We ask Allah to inspire our heart. ( Before Istikhara,look at the ground realities and analyse everything according to the hidaya Allah gave us, then do mashwara with someone,then do istikhara). Istikhara arouses an inclination that is NOT due to any apparent sabab/reason.
Kashf and ilhaam are synonymous but kashf is mainly about ilm and ilhaam is about emotion/inclination/idea mainly. Kashf can be used when a person has tried all ijtehad and arguments about a matter and still is not clear about something,then kashf is when your heart opens up to the answer provided you have ikhlaas and taqwa
Shaykh Ahmed Sirhndi RA says:
Kashf and ilham CANNOT be used to determine what is right or wrong or halal/haram. Everybody has to follow the opinion of the jurists/mujtahids/shariyah. These people remain on the same level as they were and kashf and ilhaam does not raise anyone to a level above the law
The sign of the validity of an experience is that it is in accordance with shariyah and it is not done with anything that is impermissible in shariyah e.g. music and dance
If we think that Fanaa and baqaa are in any way a fusion between Allah and man, then that is blasphemous distortion of faith.
Real fanaa and baqaa is believing in Tawheed of Allah and living in his obedience. Aything beyond that is WRONG.
Some famous scholars who were students of Tasawwuf:
They were not the masters of tasawwuf but they were students. They were masters in their own fields, just like a cardiologist cannot be a dermatologist,an ophthalmologist cannot be a gastroenterologist. So they were specialists in their own fields but they had a lot of interest in tasawwuf.
Ibn Tayyimah and Ibn Qayyim
Imam Ghazaali
Imam Malik
Imam Nawawi
Ibn e Hajar
Jalaludin Sayuti
The need for a Shaykh and Baya
Look for these qualities in the Shaykh: He should not follow his own passions instead of revelation and he should do zikr of Allah SWT.
The seed of the love of Allah is within every human being. It is planted in any heart. There is one seed which has a gardener and there is another which has no gardener. The gardener will trim away the weeds and nourish the seed and protect the plant. The other seed will just grow wild in the jungle.
This process used to be very informal in early times. Hadith transmission also used to be very informal in the time of Sahaba, and similar was the process of learning from the Prophet SAWW. You could just sit there and join the ranks. But with time, the process became more formal e.g. in the time of Imam Bukhari RA, there were some people who sat only as auditors and there were some students who became regular and were registered and given the permission to transmit the ahadith.
Baya is used for taking a pledge/oath. When you want to make yourself firm in intention by taking a pledge. It has been used in 4 meanings in Qur'an:
Sahih International
Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you, [O Muhammad] - they are actually pledging allegiance to Allah . The hand of Allah is over their hands. So he who breaks his word only breaks it to the detriment of himself. And he who fulfills that which he has promised Allah - He will give him a great reward.Bayt ul imaan - e.g. bayt e uqbah. Pledge to follow Islam and leave Kufr
Pledge was WITH the Prophet SAWW TO Allah ON Imaan
2-
Bayt ul Jihaad/Bayt alal maut-
Sahih International
Certainly was Allah pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you, [O Muhammad], under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquillity upon them and rewarded them with an imminent conquest3-Bayt ul Hijrah
It is mentioned in hadith. Bayt on making Hijrah to madinah and not coming back without permission.
4-Bayt ul Tawbah
Sahih International
O Prophet, when the believing women come to you pledging to you that they will not associate anything with Allah , nor will they steal, nor will they commit unlawful sexual intercourse, nor will they kill their children, nor will they bring forth a slander they have invented between their arms and legs, nor will they disobey you in what is right - then accept their pledge and ask forgiveness for them of Allah . Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Narrated 'Ubada bin As-Samit:
who took part in the battle of Badr and was a Naqib (a person heading a group of six persons), on the night of Al-'Aqaba pledge: Allah's Apostle said while a group of his companions were around him, "Swear allegiance to me for:
1. Not to join anything in worship along with Allah.
2. Not to steal.
3. Not to commit illegal sexual intercourse.
4. Not to kill your children.
5. Not to accuse an innocent person (to spread such an accusation among people).
6. Not to be disobedient (when ordered) to do good deed."
The Prophet (ﷺ) added: "Whoever among you fulfills his pledge will be rewarded by Allah. And whoever indulges in any one of them (except the ascription of partners to Allah) and gets the punishment in this world, that punishment will be an expiation for that sin. And if one indulges in any of them, and Allah conceals his sin, it is up to Him to forgive or punish him (in the Hereafter)." 'Ubada bin As-Samit added: "So we swore allegiance for these." (points to Allah's Apostle)
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْيَمَانِ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا شُعَيْبٌ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو إِدْرِيسَ، عَائِذُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ أَنَّ عُبَادَةَ بْنَ الصَّامِتِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ وَكَانَ شَهِدَ بَدْرًا، وَهُوَ أَحَدُ النُّقَبَاءِ لَيْلَةَ الْعَقَبَةِ ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ وَحَوْلَهُ عِصَابَةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ " بَايِعُونِي عَلَى أَنْ لاَ تُشْرِكُوا بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا، وَلاَ تَسْرِقُوا، وَلاَ تَزْنُوا، وَلاَ تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلاَدَكُمْ، وَلاَ تَأْتُوا بِبُهْتَانٍ تَفْتَرُونَهُ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَأَرْجُلِكُمْ، وَلاَ تَعْصُوا فِي مَعْرُوفٍ، فَمَنْ وَفَى مِنْكُمْ فَأَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ، وَمَنْ أَصَابَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا فَعُوقِبَ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَهُوَ كَفَّارَةٌ لَهُ، وَمَنْ أَصَابَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا ثُمَّ سَتَرَهُ اللَّهُ، فَهُوَ إِلَى اللَّهِ إِنْ شَاءَ عَفَا عَنْهُ، وَإِنْ شَاءَ عَاقَبَهُ ". فَبَايَعْنَاهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ.
| Reference | : Sahih al-Bukhari 18 |
| In-book reference | : Book 2, Hadith 11 |
| USC-MSA web (English) reference | : Vol. 1, Book 2, Hadith 18 |
It is a tawbah TO Allah but someone is just a witness/guide/tutor on that tawbah so that we become firm on our intentions.
This bayah is not fardh or wajib. It is just a sunnah ghayr moqida(No sin if you do not follow this sunnah)
It is NOT specific to the Prophet SAWW. Because: We do not have the christian concept of redemption and salvation THROUGH the Prophet SAWW. The Ulema are the wurasa and inheritors of Anbiya and this is part of the Prophetic model of Tazkiyah. AND it is NOT part of the khasusiyaat and specialities of Prophet SAWW which have been compiled separately.
The Shaykh is not the end but he is just the means and just an assistant. The bayah does not have any conditions and does not change everything. It is just a sunnah way of doing tawbah and making a commitment. It will invite Allah's mercy. It gives us a guide, a gardener and a coach. That person has more experience in getting people out of their lows, just like an experienced specialist doctor has experience in treating patients. And when you enroll in something, you become more serious and committed. You should have compatibility with the Shaykh and you should make sure he is well respected and knowledgeable. If it's not working for you and if you don't feel more inclined towards Allah SWT, then reconsider your tutor.
The most beloved of actions in Allah's sight are those actions done regularly, even if they are few. (This hadith is about nawafil because faraidh are obligatory)
Things to do:
1-Muraqabah(Remembering Allah only/exclusively)
Muraqabah comes from ra qa ba
Raqeeb means that Allah maintains a close watch/vigil on the believers
Allah is with us like a Mirsaad(A hunter/predator when he is hunting his prey, looks at its prey with an extremely intent gaze. Allah looks at us in a similar way)
In Muraqabah, we reciprocate and try to remember Allah with the same intensity
Sahih International
O you who have believed, when [the adhan] is called for the prayer on the day of Jumu'ah [Friday], then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew.This ayah refers to remembering Allah exclusively and leaving all trade/worldly matters. Focus only on Allah.
Muraqabah is from Baab Mufa'ala. Anything from this baab is two-way e.g. Musahifa, Muqatala,Mujahida.
Allah is vigilant over us so we should also think about Allah intently/vigilantly(two-way communication/connection). Allah is looking at every single person all the time. We need to reciprocate it.
Muraqabah refers to cutting ourselves off from everything. It requires disconnection from worldly things and turning towards Allah exclusively. This is an exercise and practice that has a basis in the Quran.
Sahih International
And remember your Lord within yourself in humility and in fear without being apparent in speech - in the mornings and the evenings. And do not be among the heedless.(Surah Aa'raf)The ideal way to do it is to close your eyes and sit in a relaxed manner. Make zikr of your Lord inside yourself. Think only of Allah and do not think of the random thoughts that cross your mind. But we have a tendency to get distracted if we become completely silent. A thousand things can cross our mind. So we focus on Allah while contemplating to ward off the thoughts that come in our mind.
(1) A'isha said that Rasulullah saw said: "The deeds most loved by Allah (are those)done regularly, even if they are small." (Bukhari, Muslim)
Sahih International
And remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with [complete] devotion/disconnect yourself from the world.(Surah Muzammil)Try to do it at least twice a day in the morning and evening. The longer you do it, the more beneficial it is. The more the sugar,the sweeter the dish will be.
Set a bare minimum for yourself that you have to do no matter what. Maintain that level with consistency. When you miss it, make up for it.
Use your free time wisely.Pick a time when you can focus more e.g. tahajjud, isha, fajr. It is very easy to do it with any salaah. It is great for preparing your heart and mind for salaah.
The best way to end it is to recite the kalimah and make dua at the end as duas are accepted more after any ibadah.
Even if you sleep during muraqabah, it will still be a part of ibadah. But you should be striving to stay awake. Wudhu and facing the qiblah is preferable but not necessary.
Some people feel certain feelings e.g. tickling, trembling,vibration etc. but we should know that it is nice to feel something but that is not the purpose.
The purpose is just to draw closer to Allah and slavehood of Allah and it is not dependent on any feelings.
Do it in whatever posture comfortable for you, but BE CONSISTENT. The more gaps you have, you have to start all over again. The clock is reset at zero. NEVER let there be a zero anyday, even if it may be just 5 minutes.
You can start by making a verbal niyyah too if that helps you but that is not the point. The main point is focusing your heart.
It's better to start with smaller sittings and then with time you can increase the duration of each setting. The longer you do it,the deeper you go.
Closing the eyes is only a tool to forget and turn off the world, nothing else. In salaah, the sunnah of Nabi kareem SAWW was to keep his eyes open.
Bring zikr back to all the spaces so don;t restrict your zikr to any particular place. You should light up every corner of every room with zikr
Sahih International
So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.When we remember Allah, Allah remembers us. For everything there is a polish and the polish of the heart is the remembrance of Allah. So we believe that Allah cleanses and polishes our heart by remembering us when WE remember him. Allah purifies,purges and softens our hearts and fills our hearts with love. So, we should constantly remember Allah and yearn for His mercy. Our zikr invites Allah's zikr of us and Allah makes mention of us in the heavens. Out of gratitude, we say Allah. We should think that Allah's name has barakah. We listen to our heart calling out to Allah. So we do zikr by thinking of Allah and the purpose is to invite Allah's zikr of us and in gratitude we say, Allah Allah Allah.
Doing silent zikr is like charging our phone. Our phone gets drained by all the worldly interactions so we need some time with ourselves and Allah to recharge. Everybody needs to unwind and recharge.
We attach the bicycle of our hearts to the mercedes of the Shaykh's heart in group Muraqabah. We get the reflection of the light and noor falling on the Shaykh's heart during Muraqabah. It is part of the concept of nisbat. The light is coming through all the lenses from Allah to Prophet SAWW and then through all the Quloob of the mashaiykh. Sometimes, poetry is also recited to soften the hearts for zikr.
STAGES:
1-ATTUNING
Our heart is spiritually paralysed because it has forgotten Allah for years. So the first stage of Muraqabah is just to tune our heart to Allah. It is like a spiritual therapy. It has been empty of zikr for so long and full of sinful feelings for so long that it takes time to discover our qalb.We humans have a habit of looking for instant success. Initially, we might not feel anything. We will just start off by chaining ourselves to the musalla(having Istiqlal e tabiyyat)and sitting there even if we do not feel anything. The hardest part is starting off and forcing yourself to sit.
2- STRUGGLING
The second level is to do Mujahida and struggle against the thoughts and to try and think about Allah and then your mind wanders off again and again. You may lose the battle but you should still keep trying. That's your job. The coach only gets upset when the boxer gets knocked out and never gets back up again. We just need to get back up. Keep trying. We have to give more time. The more time we give, the easier it will become. Try to do it one hour a day in a go or by breaking it up.
3- ENJOYING
The third level is Istighraaq(getting lost in Allah's zikr and thinking about Allah). It will not happen throughout the time you are trying. Sometimes, you will feel it just for a minute. Sometimes for few minutes and sometimes you won't feel even for a minute. It needs istiqamah. Maybe it will take months and years. Even if you do not feel it and you still keep trying, you get even more reward.
Shuru may zikr dawaa hota hai, baad may ghazaa ban jati hai, aur phir lazzat. Initially it is a medicine, then nourishment and then delight. And He is with you wherever you are. You feel his company and companionship.
FEELINGS YOU EXPERIENCE:
When Allah is mentioned, their hearts start fluttering. The rooh is like a bird and the body is like a cage so when the bird flaps its wings, the cage rattles and we might feel some fluttering of our spiritual qalb. It is Taharruk.
People may even physically feel some pressure or fluttering. Then people might feel haraarat and a feeling of warmth from that zikr.
The third feeling is tazakkur. Your awareness is focused on Allah's name.
Then people feel tabattal(remembering Allah exclusively). When we think of Allah's name, we remember Allah Himself. They might not even remember what they are saying because they become lost in Allah Himself.
The next stage is a delight in following shariyah and sunnah.
Sins numb the ability to perceive these feelings.. Idraak and self consciousness requires a relatively pure heart. A sign that it is successful is that you get feelings outside muraqabah, your taqwa,focus,haya,amal,relations and everything related to deen goes up. The sign of successful zikr is a spiritual awareness and actions outside that state of zikr. The person gets delight out of following sunnah and shariyah. The shariyah becomes part of his tabiyyat. At this stage, istaqamah is needed. Istaqamah is bigger than any miracle.
2- Wuquf e Qalbi
Having thoughts,feelings,remembrance of Allah SWT, Absence of ghaflah is the presence of zikr.
1-The most basic stage is to remember Allah at the start of every activity,make niyyat at the beginning. It's like switching the light bulb on and then the light continues to glow. When you do wuquf e qalbi, you become watchful of every activity you are doing and make a niyyah before doing everything so the whole day is counted as ibadah this way,
2-The second stage is to remember Allah SWT in all the gaps between any activity they are doing. Usually people check their phone in gaps or stare out of the window or do such random things. These people fill these gaps with zikr of Allah SWT. This is a form of introspection. This will help you realize how many gaps you have in your day. Social media fills all these gaps and doesn't allow us to think.
3-Third stage is Istihzaar, ALWAYS remembring Allah. Such people are not distracted by any trade or commerce. It takes years to reach that stage. We need to become spiritual athletes.
3-Qur'an
When even someone calls us from an unknown number, we pick it up because we are so curious that who is calling us. Why aren't we curious about the KNOWN Creator who has been calling us? How can we claim to be too busy for Quran? What kind of a life this is? Do tawbah from such a life
Recite at least a quarter juzz daily with consistency.
4-Istigfaar
Those who say they don't have time for istigfaar are saying they don't have time to say sorry to Allah. You have time to say sorry to the whole creation, you don't have time for Allah? We say sorry to makhloooq until they become pleased with us again, then why don't you take out time to apologize to Allah? Say sorry min kulli zanbin. Be sorry for everything.
5-Durood
How can you forget the one who never forgot you in dua? How can you forgot the one you owe your deen to?
6-Leaving sins
A diamond in the gutter will never be clean as long as it is in the gutter. Even if you wash it with itr or zamzam, it will remain dirty. It might become clear only as long as the water is flowing but the moment it stops flowing, it will be dirty again. So zikr alone is not enough if you don't leave sins and you are still in the sewer.
7-Raabita/Connection/Suhbah
Either live suhbah through talks and company, or listen via internet, or recodings.
Some tips: Generally try to write once every 2-4 weeks and as and when needed. Write about muraqabah, your focus, how long you're doing it,what lesson you are on. Write about your ability to do wuquf e qalbi. Write about your spiritual condition and anything you are struggling with.
LESSONS
There are 5 main lataiyf.
Why didn't the sahaba RA do this? Why do we have to do this if they didn't do this? They had nabi kareem SAWW so they did not need so many methods and these developed over time. Who needs the lamp when you have the sun? We don't need to scrub when the sun can shine and clear everything. Nobody claims that these are derived from sahaba RA, and methods of purification are different in different groups. Some people do loud zikr and try to do beat the impurities out of their chests, some people oppose their nafs to do tazkiyah.
QALB
Physical heart is closer to center of chest and spiritual heart qalb is closest to the outer side of chest. Understand it on the basis of trust and later feel it with experience.
Lust is here.By making zikr you purify that part of your heart. You retain only the pure part of the feelings remove the impurities e.g. unlawful lust is eliminated and lawful desire remains which is within the boundaries of shariah.
RUH- anger lies here.
Similarly, unlawful anger vanishes and lawful anger for the haqq and deen remains, the ghayrah remains, and it is this ghayrah that makes us fight for deen.
SIRR - materialistic greed, love for dunya, hirs
Greedy for akhirah,amaal and sunnah is the lawful and healthy form of greed. It motivates them to do efforts to please Allah SWT.
Hirs for dunya is the unlawful impure form of greed.
KHAFI - unlawful envy,jealousy,bukhal,malice(gill) - all hostile feelings for others.
Those people who have purified their khafi can get along with everyone. They are like the earth and can mix ill all kinds of soil. They get along with everyone.
AKHFAA- what people keep most hidden
Arrogance and pride
. Ujab means vanity and conceit(viewing yourself as something). Kibr(you view yourself to be better than others). Takabbur(viewing yourself as something and better than others)
When you have a lot of talents, it is very hard to be humble. The biggest quality of nabi kareem SAWW was his humility and aajzi.
There are different lessons for different lataif. Every lesson does general tazkiyah, like a flowing stream which trickles and waters every flower. The effect of tazkiyah is leaving the act of most or all sins and the highest level is leaving all feelings and desire/temptations of sin. As soon as the raindrop comes, the wiper wipes it away. That is how we should wipe away sins with tawbah.The power of sin still remains but the the act of sin disappears.
Look for the effects of muraqabah outside muraqabah. Muraqabah helps you do tazkiyah and it helps you focus better during your ibadah. You need to do zikr e kaseer and not zikr e qaleel. You have to keep digging. The more you dig the more gold you discover and the more your yaqeen increases as you see the gold :)
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