KALAM E SHEIKHULAM ENGLISH 5

Let thou glaze thy soul like the glass. Thus reality can thou ascertain. Stare not thy vile being. Die Before You Die That is Mediation. ‪#‎ kalame‬ ‪#‎ sheikhulalam‬ “Die before you die” is a well known Hadith. Being familiar with this Hadith, a man asked Shaikh AbdulQadir Jilani, “How do I die?” He, Allah Bless his soul,said: “Cease following your mind, desire, carnal self (nafs), passions, karma and common habits. Abstain from seeking the people, desiring what they have orasking them for alms. Give up on them and stop associating them with Allah’s will in the giving or withholding. Ask nothingfrom anyone besides Allah Almighty. Let allyour deeds be done for Allah’s sake and for the pleasureof his Divine Countenance, not for the sake of reward or favor. Accept His Management, Judgment and Doing. When you do so, you will be dead to yourself, but alive in Him. Your heart will become his abode. He turns it as He Pleases, and your heart will be transferred to the Ka’aba of His proximity. You will hold fast to its covering cloth (sitra), alwaysremembering Him, praising Him and forgetting aboutanything else. Today the key to Paradise is the proclamation: La illaha il-Allah, Muhammadur-Rasul Allah (There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) Tomorrow, the key to Paradise is to die to your carnal self and anything besides Him, while observing the boundaries of the Divine Laws. Proximity to Allah Almighty is the Paradise of the true believers and distance from Him is their Hell. They seek no other Paradise and fear no other Hell.”

Kalam E Sheikhulalam English 4

Precious gold knowledge is to be preserved in Coffers. Vend it pure as a vendor to a vendee. Veracious shalt thou be to vend it. A lamp thy faith is Let not Be BloWn Out....

Manqabat E Syedah Fatima Tuz Zahra -alayhe salam

شام و سحر میں، رات میں تسبیحِ فاطمہؑ تھامی ہے میں نے ہاتھ میں تسبیحِ فاطمہؑ جن و بشر، نبی و ملائک، قُطب، ولی پڑھتے ہیں مُشکلات میں تسبیحِ فاطمہؑ محشر کے روز تُحفہٗ ربِ جلیل کو، لائے ہیں اپنے ساتھ میں تسبیحِ فاطمہؑ جیسے خُدا کی حمد ہے، نعتِ رسولؑ ہے ہے میرے واجبات میں تسبیحِ فاطمہؑ مثلِ عرُوس دکھتی ہے سب سے جُدا جُدا لفظوں کی اس بارات میں تسبیحِ فاطمہؑ آئیں جو سوالات کو مُنکر نکیر، تو پڑھ دینا جوابات میں تسبیحِ فاطمہؑ سُورج کو دُھوپ، چاند کو ٹھنڈک عطا ہوئی گُل کو ملی سوغات میں تسبیحِ فاطمہؑ

20 Tips to be a Successful Student

As many students are having difficulties in their ways to success, I’d like to share with you all 20 tips tobe a successful student. I hope you all will like it andplease do not thank me for doing it. Just inform me if it is working well for you. 20 Tips to be a successful student 1. We must believe that we are originally successful as stated by Allah S.W.T in the Qura’n in Surah At-Tin : 95:4 Surely We created manof the best stature. This means Allah has created us with everlasting success and as caliphs on earth we should know howto find and bring out the success ourselves. 2. Our brain is divided into 2 parts: left hemisphere andright hemisphere. The right hemisphere functions to think logically, critically, think about science and anything that’s considered in this area. The left hemisphere functions to think creatively, literary andelse that’s called creative. Normally, many students use the right hemisphere to learn but the fact is, learning is excellent and you’ll learn at the maximumstage when you use both sides of your brain. Here we can conclude than we should learn with both sides of our brain to get themaximum understanding when we’re learning. 3. Don’t ever believe that you’re an ordinary person with nothing to be proud of. Here, I don’t ask you to be proud of yourself or what, the thing is, you must believe and feel confident that you’re created with success. You must believe that you’re truly a successful person. But you must find the success first before believing it that way. 4. Remember these facts: We remember 10% of what we read 20% of what we read and listen (listen to teacher) 50% of what we read, listen and see (pay attention to teacher) 70% of what we read, listen,see and say (say everything we have learnt loudly) 90% of what we practice daily (do exercise after study daily, every time you’ve finished studying) 5. Learn actively with your fingers pointing at what you’re learning to increase your attention. Draw a mind map every time after you’ve finished studying. 6. Learn 2 ½ -3 hours a day for high school students and 4-5 hours a day for those in university. 7. Learn in a conducive surrounding: a) Green /yellow/ both surrounding b) Sufficient light c) A bit hotter (no air conditioned room please) d) Lower noise e) IMPORTANT: Don’t ever try to learn with music. It might cause your brain to be confused. You aren’t learning actually but reading! As said by many scholars, there’ll no barakah to those who learnthis way. NO BARAKAH FROM ALLAH! SO, STOP LISTENING TO MUSIC WHENYOU’RE LEARNING! (Music isHaram) f) Paste motivation posters like Qura’n phrases (most recommended) and your own motivation like: I’m clever! I can do it! Of courseI can! Allah’s with me! g) Learn towards kiblah. If you’re capable to do this (most recommended) change you table’s position towards kiblah. And if can, please remove your table’s position to be near to the window as brain need oxygen and sugar (this will be explained later) to operate excellently. h) Wear some perfumes (girls, please listen. Do not wear it outside or when there’s ajnabi around (non muhrim men around) it might cause a BIG sin. Wear it a bit when you’re studying). i) Smile when you’re studying. 8. Don’t ever try to leave your class (when you’re in school or etc) without any good reason. This could cause the teachers to hate you and stop praying for your success or in the otherhand: NO BARAKAH FROM ALLAH! If you cannot avoid from leaving your lesson, you should ask for apologyand notes from your teachers. 9) Learn with output learning: a) Read first b) Try to remember back c) Draw a mind map d) Check your mind map and compare it to the real note. e) Speak out loudly what you’ve learnt 9. You should know how tomotivate yourself when you fail to get what you’re targeting to own. 10. Write the positive deeds you’ve done in your diary daily. This could help to motivate you. 11. Be friend with positive people. 12. Try to help others to be the best. If you do it this way, Allah will help you to be best too. Insha Allah. 13. Pray to Allah every second…as possible as you can. 14. Always be early in everything. For example, sit in front in your class. Prepare for your exam earlier. Read any related thing or the subject you’ll learn before being taught by the teachers. 15. Always recite Surah Al Insyirah ‘Alam nasyrah’ before you learn, sit for exam. Recite Yaasin or Qura’n 2 ains daily. 16. Learn in short session: Every 20 minutes, stop for 2-3 minutes to drink water and etc. You won’t feel bored this way. 17. Revise as soon as possible before 24 hours. For instance, if you read Geography that morning, atnight you should revise it back. 18. You should know how to strengthen your memory. a) Do not eat fish head, internal organs like heart ofanimal (If you want to eat those food, please recite Bismillahillazi layadurru maa’s mihi shaiun fil ardi wala fissama’I wahuassami ul allim ( ANYONE WHO KNOWS ARABIC, PLEASE HELP ME TO WRITE IT IN ARABIC). Please do not eat any food that’s being polluted….has ant in it (there’s a sahih hadith about it). b) Drink one hour before/after eating as doneby Rasulallah S.A.W. Learn 2 hours after eating to avoid from being sleepy. Eat before iftar if possible. c) Do not eat to much as Umar Al Khattab said it isn’tgood for health and your mind. You’ll feel sleepy if you do it. d) Do not see your private side frequently. It can causeyou to be an absent minded and you might have sight problem. e) Do not look at bubbles. Do not read dead people names at the graveyard. Scholars believe bubbles will cause your memory to burst like bubbles too and dead people names will cause your brain to be dead. f) Eat a lot of nuts, peas and beans. Eat raisins, honey and dates too. g) Wear hair oil. h) Exercise weekly to be fit all the time. 19. Make a flexible timetable. You can have rest, study, and play in it. Include all good points like learning, your hobby and etc. But remember do not do something like learning for a long time, it will causeyou to be bored. And do not play for too long time, you’ feel tired and you cannot study after that. 20. Make salah Tahajjud and Hajat daily. Pray for every muslim especially your friends, parents and teacher. Above all Perform Your Salaah Daily.... An Aleem said (on Islam Channel): A person can notlearn by two things 1) Arguing with a Fool 2) Arguing with your Teacher (Always respect your teacher as u respect urParents.. It did work.. When I was in College I was studing 18 units + As Use of Maths throughout 2 years.. N I endup getting 12 Distiction (A) and 6 Merits and B for my AS Use of Maths... I m not trying to say i m clever. I would request all brothers n sisters to perform salaah.. If u stuck some where whiledoing some revison.. Perform 2 Rakah Nafil.. andask Allah SAW to give u Tufiq to learn.. Show u anything is hidden.. Make things ease for u.. Teach you what you do not know.. Courtesy : BrotHer Uzeir

Kalam E sHeikhuLaLam English 3

Ever & anon did thou prove a highway robber here. Verily it is thy carnal appetite that robs thee. If thou be afraid of God as thou art a lion. Thou shalt cherish a hospitality of a king in Hereafter.

Beware Of Women and World

Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "The world is sweet and green (alluring); and verily, Allah is making you to succeed each other, generations after generations in it in order to see how you act. So beware of this world and beware of women". [Muslim]. Commentary: The stress that it lays on guarding against the evil of women shows how grave a mischief woman is for man. The warning it contains is intended to alert men against the cunning and deceit of women and induces them to take preventive measures prescribed by the Shari`ah inthis behalf. Those who disregard the injunctions of Shari`ah in this respect generally become a victim of the seduction, wiles and guiles of women. May Allah save us from their amorous ways.

See God is Everything:

One who sees the ultimate source of his problems increated being is like a dog whom a man hits with a brick and then the dod goes and bite the brick, not knowing that the brick has no agency on its own. Such a person and this dog is equal. One who sees the ultimate source of the favours he enjoys in created beings is like a horse who, when its trainer approaches shakes its tail in happiness. Butwhen its owner approaches, it pays him not attention. If you are intelligent, see God as the ultimate source of things, and do not see this in anything else. The lost one is not one who loses his way in the desert. The lost one is the one who is unable to findthe path to guidance. You seek honour from people, but you do not seek it from God. But one who seeks honour from people has lost his way. And one who has lost his way will only be taken farther from his desired destination the longer he travels that road. This is truly the lost one. If you say, "There is no god but Allāh", Allāh will demand of you that you live up to this and recognise its true meaning. That means that you do not attribute cause of things to anyone but God. Shaykh Ibn 'Atā'illāh al-Skandarī (d.1309) in Tāj al-'Arūs translated by Dr. Sherman Jackson in Sufismfor Non-Sufis

Sharh (Commentary) of the Song of Abu Madyan al-Ghawth Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi (Weimar 1998)

The pleasure of life is only in the company of the fuqara. They are the sultans, the masters, the princes. There is no higher company. As they are the least ofmen and make no claims, they are the elite and the two worlds are their property. With them is the Maqam al-Mahmud, for the Messenger, blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, has said, 'Look forme among the poor, for I was only sent among youbecause of them,' and 'Poverty is all my glory,' and"Allah loves the poor." Therefore keep their company and have adab in their assemblies. Leave your portion behind you whenever they send you forward. Keep their company - in this is half the science of knowledge. Our knowledge is not informational, it is transmitted. The company of the fuqara is like a developing fluid in which the murid is soaked, until by its properties, the self emerges and is recognised.As we see later in the poem, the imprinting of the image is due to being exposed to the light of the Shaykh. Spiritual courtesy has three levels: 1) adab to Allah 2) adab to the Shaykh 3) adab to creation Adab to Allah has three parts: a) Performance of the obligatory b) Nawafil (extra) acts of 'ubudiyya - night prayers, recitation of Qur'an, wirds, wazifas, diwan, Asma' al-Husna. c) Muraqaba. The invocation of the Supreme Name with deep contemplation and stillness until the falling away of the attributes and the secret is revealed. The secret of muraqaba is mushahada (That is, the secret of watching is witnessing.) Adab to the Shaykh has three parts: a) Action. That is service without judgement. b) State. Taste the states of the Shaykh in three conditions: i) dhikr - follow him in concentration on his Lord. ii) fikr - follow his exposition of the glories of his Lord. iii) himma - follow him in his yearning for his Lord. c) Station. Recall that his maqam is the ayat of YaSin: 'And there came a man, running, from the furthest part of the city saying, "Follow the Messengers."' Love of the Shaykh vanishes in love of the Messenger. Love of the Messenger vanishes in love of Allah. Adab to the fuqara has three parts: a) This is contained in the last phrase of this line: 'Leave your portion behind you whenever they send you forward.' b) See their faults as your mirror in which you discover what is wrong with you. c) When you look at the fuqara, see the Shaykh. Seize the moment and always be present with them.Know that rida is bestowed on those who are present. Do not think that learning comes only from the discourse. It comes in the 'keeping company'. Keeping company is an intellectual activity. Discourse is an ecstatic activity. Sama'a is a serene activity. All three are the conditions of 'being present', This is the transformative process that we call alchemy. Cling to silence unless you are questioned. Then say, 'I have no knowledge' and be concealed by ignorance. Silence must not be to draw attention, but to ward off attention. Do not be afraid among the fuqara. No one should notice your silence. Your reticence isyour victory, and by it your ignorance will rapidly be transformed into knowledge. Do not look at fault unless you see a clear fault appear in you, but it is concealed. The fuqara are flawless. When you see them as flawless you have become flawless. When you are flawless, you have reached your Shaykh. 'You will not find any flaw in the creation of the Merciful.' Until you can understand this to be true of the lovers of Allah, how will you grasp it among the people of suffering and the people of wrong action? Lower your head and ask for forgiveness without cause. Stand apologising in just treatment. No blame. This is the rule of the zawiyya and the maqam of the awliya. It is the station of the 'the stranger will cast out the weaker' and the defeat of hypocrisy (nifaq). If a fault appears from you, then apologise and lift the face of your apology for what has flowed in you from you. Do not cling to wrong action. Do not nurse any badfeeling. Let everything go. The fuqara must have hearts like children of whom the Messenger of Allah, blessings and the peace of Allah be upon him, said, 'Allah loves them for three things. One, they cry easily, Two, they hold no rancour. Three, if you take away a gold toy and give them a clay one it is the same for them. Say, 'Your insignificant slave is more entitled to yourpardon. Act kindly in forgiveness and adhere to gentleness, O fuqara!' The progress of the seeker lies in this verse. Here is the quick ascent and the victory over the nafs. They are not entitled to condescension, and it is their practice. Fear neither overtaking nor harm from them. Until you taste this ease in the company of the fuqara, you can never taste ease in your own company. Until you taste ease in your own company, you cannot reach the stage of entering the ahwal (states) of the Shaykh. Once you trust thefuqara you can trust yourself. When you trust yourself, you meet the shaykh at last, not as a guideor a teacher, or a leader, but as a light calling to a light. Always be generous in singing the praises of the brothers in the senses and the meaning. Lower the eye if someone slips. Praising the fuqara has expansion in it, and release, and freedom from fear, and the end of loneliness. It has compassion for the sick in it, patience with theold, and generosity with the young. In it faqirat learn to honour their husbands and fuqara to be sweet to their wives. Lower the eye if someone slips. This is a high prophetic sunnah - covering the faults of the brothers. It is the effect ofthe dhikr ofastaghfirullah. It is the cause of the dhikr -tabaraka'llah. From it comes the Shaykh's love of the murid. The Shaykh rejoices in two things- when his murid is spoken against and when his murid refrains from speaking against. Watch the Shaykh carefully in his states, perhaps a trace of his approval will be seen on you. The Shaykh has three states in public. i) Meeting. Like a host with his guests or a father with his children. Here all is hidden under the light of welcome, attention, news, and the exchange of courtesies. This is the most difficult ground for the new murid. Levity is for the nursery and where there is play there is no work. ii) Guidance. When the Shaykh speaks to one person, take it as meant for you. The Shaykh conceals his serious admonition and hides his target both in reproach and in love. When the Shaykh speaks to you consider it is cross-roads - do not turnback on your path. If he is pleased with you, resolve to strengthen your purpose. If he is displeased, delight in his noticing it. When he speaksof Allah - take it in - all his words will become realities for you. iii) Absence. When the Shaykh withdraws from the company inwardly during samaÔa or in a meeting, go with him. It was for this that you set out. It was for this that you et out. This draws you into the audience chamber of the heart. 'Perhaps a trace of his approval will be seen on you.' This is a light from Allah and without intermediary. The Shaykh does not 'do' anything. He recognises those Allah loves. This recognition has wisdom in it for him and for you. Shaykh Ahmad al-Badawi of Fes, may Allah be merciful to him, said, 'One glancefrom the Shaykh wipes out a thousand wrong actions.' This is very difficult for the people of thought-forms to understand and easy for the people of states. This concerns the inner zone of the lubb, or core of the human self's awareness. Its mithal is the sun's rays. If you sit in the sun you become sunburned. If you sit with the Shaykh you become purified, later intoxicated, and finally annihilated. As the one who is first warmed, then burned, and at the end finally blinded by the rays of the sun. In this zone is the innermost reality and the secrets of 'keeping company'. Advance with seriousness and leap to serve him. Perhaps he will be pleased, and beware lest you become irritated. Your service to the shaykh is a tremendous thing. Greater than it is his service to you. Wrong feelings against the Shaykh endanger the murid by confusion and the illusion that the nafs is other, and there is no other... Abu'l-'Abbas al-Mursi, Allah's mercy be upon him, said, "The one who says, 'why?' to his Shaykh will never be happy.' Never forget the contract with the Shaykh is to move you from 'ilmi nafsika to 'ilmi rabbika, from knowledge of yourself to knowledge of your Lord. The pleasure of the Creator is in his pleasure and his obedience. He will be pleased with you. Beware of the one who leaves it. There is no shirk here. It is the secret of the people of the path. Without a Shaykh a man cannot defeat his nafs. The more he fights himself the more powerful the elf becomes. Attention confirms the nafs. The activator of the nafs will be either outside or inside the nafs. If it is activated from inside, this is the work of Shaytan, the whisperer, who instigates wrong action. That is why, following the word of Moulay 'Abdalqadir al-Jilani, the murid must make himself like the dead body in the hands of the washer in relations with the Shaykh. Abu Yazid, Allah's mercy on these great awliya, said, 'He who does not have a Shaykh as a master will have Shaytan as a master.' This is why keeping company is a necessary condition of the path. How can the doctor heal the patient unless the patient is broughtbefore him? At the heart of the matter, however, there is no rule over the murid. The murid must want what the Shaykh wants, in that is his cure. Themurid is the one who has handed over his irada - his will - to the Shaykh in order to come quickly out of the fantasies of the khayal, (the faculty investing solid objects with their reality) and the kufr, the covering that is the self. 'Fear Allah and He will give you discrimination.' That means not by you but by Him. Then separationdoes not veil you from gatheredness and gatheredness does not veil you from separation. Know that the path of the People is study, and the state of the one who claims it today is as you see. The homeland of the People is ma'nawiyya. In this realm the bird of the secret flies freely into the open space of open space. The intellect must be trained to move in the realm of ishara, indication, that is the subtle zone of meanings arrived at by hints and coded signs, inaccessible by the lower faculty of reason. The faculty of ishara only emerges by the practice of dhikr, not by the practiceof fikr. It in return is dependent on himma - constant yearning that increases and becomes more intense. There is no end to this except in the Beloved. When will I see them, where will I see them? When will my ear hear some news of them? Shaykh Ahmad al-Badawi of Fes, may Allah be merciful to him, said, 'If you have seen the fuqara, then you have seen Allah.' Once some ignorant scholars denounced the fuqara for performing the hadra. They asked what happened when the fuqara danced. The reply was, 'We see Allah.' The scholars exclaimed that this was just as they had thought. It was shirk. 'Why?' asked the fuqara, 'Do you see other-than-Allah?' Who is mine and where will my like compete with them in wells about which I do not recognise impurity? Once love of Allah becomes established in the heart, the faqir becomes a means of contemplation, and a place of meeting, and a cause of delight in the heart. I love them and I treat them gently and I offer themmy heart's blood - especially a party of them. Among the elite are the elect. Some are drunk, wandering, helpless, in love with the Majesty. Someare sober, still, powerful, in contemplation of the Beauty. Some are sober/drunk, still/moving - majesty does not veil them from beauty and beautydoes not veil them from majesty. They are the people of perfection. A people with noble qualities - Wherever they sit, a fragrance remains in the place after them. This is baraka. Baraka is from the hadrat ar-Rabbani,the presence of Lordship. Whoever denies baraka, denies that Allah is the Living who does not die. To the muslim, baraka is at the Black Stone, in the Rawdah, on the Laylat al-Qadr. To the mumin, baraka is in the mosque, at the tombs of the awliya - without shirk or bidÔa for there is no need to do anything to experience it - and in the presence of the salihun. To the muhsin, baraka is in every tree and every stone and every flower and every face and every star. Tabaraka'llah. Tasawwuf is guided by their character in the Paths. Excellent harmony is theirs, that delights my eye. Sufism is not a coded doctrine. It is the acts and states of the men of Allah, the rijala'llah. It is dhawq. Taste for the people of state. Witnessing forthe people of witnessings. Annihilation for the people of annihilation. They are the people of my love and my lovers whoare among those who trail the coat-tails of might in magnificence. Love of the lovers is a tremendous thing. If you are present when they meet and express their love, Allah has given you a great overflowing (fadl). Their meeting takes place but is not witnessed. Theirparting is witnessed but does not place. Their sole concern is the contemplation of the Beloved. This is the maqam of Ihsan. May I be united with them in Allah, And my wrong action forgiven and pardoned in Him. What a du'a and what a goal! This is the maqam of Ibrahim. Then blessings be upon the Chosen, Sayyiduna Muhammad, the best of those who fulfilled and who vowed. What a prayer and what a reward! This is the maqam of Islam. We thank Allah for the gift of Islam and it is enough for us. Ameen.

On Dhikr From Miftah al-Falah (The Key to Success) by Ibn 'Ata'llah al-Iskandari

Dhikr is a fire which does not stay or spread – so if it enters a house saying, "Me and nothing other than me," which is one of the meanings of "la ilaha illa'llah' (There is no god but Allah), and there is firewood in the house, it burns it up and it becomesfire. If there is darkness in the house, it becomes light. If there is light in the house, it becomes 'light upon light'. Dhikr expels from the body impure substances produced by excess in eating or from the consumption of unlawful food. As for food which is lawful, it does not touch it. So the harmful components are burned up and the good components remain. Dhikr is heard by every part as if it were blowing on a trumpet. When dhikr first occurs in the head, the sound of trumpets and cymbals is experienced there. Dhikr is a sultan – when it descends in a place, it descends with its trumpets and cymbals because dhikr is opposed to all that is other than the Truth. When it descends in a place, it occupies itself with negating what is contrary to the Truth, as we find in the union of water and fire. After these sounds, different sounds are heard: like the ripple of water, the sound of the wind, the sound of fire when it is kindled, the sounds of galloping of horses, and the sound of leaves of the trees rustlingin the wind. This is because man is a combination of every nobleand low substance: dust, water, fire, air and earth, and heaven and earth and what is between them: these sounds issue from every source and element of these substances. Whoever has heard these sounds in dhikr praises Allah and glorifies Him with his entire tongue. This is the result of the dhikr with the tongue with the force of complete absorption. Perhaps the worshipper will reach the state where, if he falls silent from dhikr, the heart will stir in his breast, like the movement of the child in the womb,seeking dhikr. Some say that he heart is like 'Isa, the son of Mary, peace be upon him, and dhikr is its milk. When it grows and becomes strong, longing for the Truth audibly springs from it and pangs of yearning craving for dhikr and the One invoked. The dhikr ofthe heart is like the sound of the bee, neither a confused high noise nor a very low hidden sound. When the One invoked takes possession of the heart and the dhikr is obliterated and vanishes, and the invoker does not pay attention to the dhikr nor to the heart. If during this, he notices the dhikr or the heart, that is a distracting veil. This is state is annihilation (fana') – and it is that man is annihilated in respect to his self (nafs), and he feels nothing in his limbs nor things outside of him or things inside of him. If, during that, it occurs to him that he is totally annihilated in respect to himself, that then is a blemish and turbidity. Perfection is that he be annihilated to himself and to annihilation, and the annihilation of annihilation is the goal of annihilation. Annihilation is the earliest of the Path (Tariq) since it is travelling towards Allah Almighty, and then guidance follows.By guidance I mean the guidance of Allah as the Prophet Ibrahim said, "I am going to my Lord, and He will guide me." (37:99) This absorption is seldom stable and rarely continues. If the invoker continues, it becomes a fixed habit and a permanent state by which he may ascend to the celestial world. Then the purest real Being emerges and he is imprinted with nature of the invisible world (malakut) and the holiness of Divinity (lahut) is manifested to him. The first thing manifested to him from that world are the essences of the angels and the spirits of the Prophets and saints in beautiful forms through which some of therealities overflow onto him. That is the beginning. This continues until his degree is higher than forms and he encounters the Truth in everything with clarity. This is the fruit of the core of dhikr. Its beginning is only the dhikr of the tongue; and then the dhikr of the heart is stimulated. Then the dhikr becomes natural; and then the One invoked takes possession and the invoker is obliterated. This is the inner secret of the words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "Whoever wish to abide in the Garden of Paradise should invoke Allah much" and the secret of his words "Hidden dhikr is seventy times preferable to dhikr which is heard by listeners." The sign of dhikr moving to the inner conscience (sirr) is the absence of the invoker from dhikr and the One invoked, and the dhikr of the inner conscience is frantic thirst and drowning in it.Among its signs is that when you ceasing doing dhikr, it does not leave you, and the ascendancy of dhikr in you stirs you from absence to presence. Among its signs is that dhikr presses against your heads and limbs so that they seem as if they were bound with shackles and chains. Among its signs is that its fires do not abate and its light does not depart. Rather you always see its lights rising and descending while the fires around you are pure, aflame and brightly burning. When dhikr reaches the inner conscience when the invoker falls silent from dhikr, it is as if needles had been thrust through his tongue or as if his entire face were a tongue invoking, light pouring from it. Subtle point: Know that every dhikr which you heart feels is heart by listeners, if their awareness match your awareness. There is a secret in it: when your dhikr vanishes from your awareness since you have departed to the One invoked, your dhikr vanishes altogether from the awareness of listeners. Subtle point: The dhikr of the letters is without the presence of the dhikr of the tongue. The dhikr of the presence in the heart is the dhikr of the heart; and the dhikr of absence from presence with the One Invoked is the dhikr of the inner conscience (sirr), and it is hidden dhikr.

Imam Al-Ghazali: On The Merits Of Humble Adoration 1.1

Merit of Humble Adoration (Khushu’) God, Exalted is He, said, “And perform Prayerin remembrance of Me.” (20:14) The Exalted One also said, “Do not be one of those neglectful.” (7:205) God, Great and Glorious is He, also said, “Do not approach the Prayer when you are intoxicated,until you know what you are saying.” (4:43) Some say that ‘intoxicated’ meansinebriated by many anxieties, while others say it meansdrunk onthe love of this world. According to Wahb (May God be pleased with him), the meaning is obviouslya caution against worldly attachment, since the words, ‘until you know what you are saying’ explain the underlying reason. Many are those who praywithout having drunk wine,yet do not know what they are saying in their Prayers!” The Prophet (May the peace and blessings of God be upon him) said, “If a man performs two units ofPrayer without distraction of any worldly thought, all his previous sins will be forgiven.” (Bukhari andMuslimwith slightly different wording) The Prophet (May the peace and blessings of God be upon him) said, “Prayer is nothing butsubmissiveness,humility, supplication, sighing andremorse, holding out your hands and saying, ‘O God! O God!Otherwise, it is abortive.” (Tirmidhi and Nasa’i) Source:- www.soutilaahi.com

On Gratitude:

It was told that the grandson of the Prophet, Hassanibn 'Alī, clung to the corner of the Ka'bah and said,"My God, You have done good to me and have not found me grateful. You have tested me and have not found me patient. Yet You have not taking Your blessings away from me for all my lack of gratitude,nor made difficultly continue, for all my lack of patience! My God, nothing comes from the Generous except generosity." It was said that if you cannot stretch your hand to give recompense, you should stretch your tongue togive thanks. And it is said that there are four whose labours are fruitless: anyone who whispers to a deaf man, sets a benefit before the unthankful, sows in a salt marsh, or light lamps in the sunshine. When Nabi Allāh Idrīs was given good news of God's forgiveness, he requested a long life. Asked why, he said, "In order to thank Him, for before this I was working for forgiveness." The angel unfurled his wings and carried him off to heaven. One of the Prophets passed by a little rock from which was issuing great amounts of water. He wondered at that, so God caused it to speak to him."Since I heard God Most High say, "A fire whose fuelis men and stones" [66:6] it said, "I have wept". So that Prophet prayed to God to protect that rock. Allāh revealed to him that He has indeed protected it from the Fire. The Prophet went on. When he came by again he found the water gushing from it as before. He wondered and God caused the rock to converse with him. "Why are you crying? " he asked it, "When God has forgiven you?" "Those were tears of grief and fear," it said, "These are tearsof gratitude and joy." It is said that the grateful person is present with God's bounty, because what he sees is the blessing. God Most High said, "If you are thankful, I will give you more" [14:7]. The patient person, though, is present with God Most High, because what he sees isthe One who is putting him to the test. God, Most High said, "Certainly God is with the patient." [2:153, 8:46, 8:66]. Imam Abu Qāsim al-Qushayrī in his Risālā.

On Conceit ['Ujub], Arrogance [Kibr] and Pride [Fakhar]:

Conceit is a deep-seated disease. It is when the servant looks at himself with the eye of honour and self-glorification, while looking at others with the eye of lowliness and disdain. Its effect on the tongue is that he says, “I this” and “I that.” As accursed Iblīs said, “I am better than him; You created me from fire and You created him from clay” (7:12). Its result, when in company, is believing oneself to be above others, seeking, to have precedence and to take pride of place at gathering. In discussion, it results in an aversion to being contradicted. The arrogant person is one who, when warned, haughtily rejects the advice, yet, when warning others, does so aggressively. Anyone who sees himself as better than one of Allah’s creature is arrogant. Rather than being arrogant, you should realize that the virtuous one is the one considered by Allah in the Final Abode, and that is something that is unseen and depends upon one’s state at death. Your conviction, therefore, that you are better than others is pure ignorance. Rather, you should not look at any other person without seeing that he is better then you, that his merit surpass yours, and yourself as nothing. Imam Ghazzali in “The Beginning of Guidance” translated by Mashhad al-Allaf.

Regarding the merits of Surah al-Fatiha

Its special merits also include the fact that it contains twenty-two letters of the Arabic alphabet,and twenty-two was the number of those who helped the Prophet after he received the revelation. Seven letters do not occur in al-Fatiha. They are the thā’ of al-thubūr (destruction), the jīm of al-jahīm (Hellfire), the khā’ of al-khawf (fear), thezāy of al-zaqqūm (the tree of bitter fruit in Hell), the shīn of al-Shaqāwa (misfortune) , the zā’ of al-Zulma (darkness)and the fā’ of al-firāq (separation) If someone firmly believes in (the merit of) this Qur’an chapter and recites it in a state of reverenceand veneration, he will be safe from these seven things. - Shaykh al-Islām Ibrahim Niasse (d.1975) in his Magnum Opus, Kāshif al-Ilbās pg. 183. (Removal ofconfusion book, available at Wardah Books)

Perfume of Attraction

Everyone should strive to become a friend of God,for the Lord never rebuffs the seeker of His intimacy. The main reason for attending a center such as this is to prepare yourself to attain that intimacy. No one can become a friend of God without also becoming a friend of His servants. Theattainment of that familiarity and sympathy with the souls of His servants is proof of one’s approachto sainthood, for it is easy to claim that one is a friend of God, but not so easy to be in harmony with people. Perhaps now, during your time here at this center, you may feel closeness with your fellow seekers of truth, but when you return to your countries you will certainly find this harder to realize. When you truly attain the station of friend of God, everyone will be your friend. To succeed in attaining this closeness with people is a sign of one’s admittance to the Divine Presence. I don’t mean that you become physically attractive or attracted to them, this is not a physical attraction we are talking about but an attraction through the hearts. Our Grandsheikh once told me a tale about a flower of India that grows only in the most inaccessible places and is, furthermore, always surrounded by snakes. That flower has such an overpoweringly beautiful fragrance that whoever wears it will be loved by one and all. I said to my Grandsheikh: “Oh my Master let me go in search ofthat flower”. He replied, “Oh Nazim Efendi, thereis no need for you to go there, for as long as you are vigilant with your Lord after midnight even for a short time Allah Almighty will adorn you with anattraction seventy times more powerful than the attraction of that perfume. Even if you just arise during the last watch of the night when every one is asleep, and even if you don’t pray, this miracle will occur and you will become as attractive as that perfume. Whoever arises at that hour will certainly gain the good graces of his Lord, for that is the time when the Lord looks for the repentance of His servants. Therefore, I advise you all to awaken sometime during the last third of the night: even for five minutes. You must, however, be in a state of ritual purity. Then you must address your Lord: “Oh my lord, come to me, as I cannot come to You”. That prayer is enough to give you full protection for that day and makes you a friend of God. People pass their days coming and going, but in the evening everyone returns to his or her darling. The Lord asks you to be with Him Alone, even for just five minutes in an intimate time of the late night. Who turns to his Lord in the night will find Him near, and will be able to rely upon him even in the midst of great and terrible events. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Adil Haqqani

Qasidah Salat o Salaam

 Ya Nabi Salaam Alaika

Bismi Allah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim O Allah! Send Peace and Blessings upon Muhammad And send Peace and Blessings upon The Intercessor for us, Muhammad If you desire in the two Abodes to receive happiness Then give increase to the Salaah upon Muhammad And if you prayed, then seek the reward therein And petition through the Salaah upon Muhammad And if you desire surety of its acceptance Then seal it with the Salaah upon Muhammad So neither Fasting is sound nor Prayer For one who leaves the Salaah upon Muhammad And your action all of it will result in goodness If you sent salutations within it upon Muhammad And arise in the night and supplicate to Allah and desire To your Lord by the Salaah upon Muhammad And say O Lord! Do not sever my hopes And to me be favorable with the Salaah upon Muhammad So hasten with the writing by a little slave [i.e. himself] Plea by means of the Salaah upon Muhammad He fears his sins buts hopes for Safety through the Salaah upon Muhammad And be favorable during my end for I Implored you with the Salaah upon Muhammad So good deeds are not multiplied except by repeating the Salaah upon Muhammad And if you see a people devoid in them Turn to Allah with the Salaah upon Muhammad Safeguard from them and seek other than them And make rememberance of the Salaah upon Muhammad So accumulation of goodness and blessings is not Seen except with the Salaah upon Muhammad And fear your Lord in secret and in open And send salutations upon the Intercessor for us, Muhammad And if it happened that your sins were innumerable Cover them with the Salaah upon Muhammad And when death comes and you see the commandment Delight in the Salaah upon Muhammad And in the grave rest with security And receive mercy through the Salaah upon Muhammad And do not fear terror from the two Angels When they question you reply to them “Muhammad” The Messenger of Allah is true. We follow And we believe and accept the truth of Muhammad And in the grave you have a helper And be fervent in the Salaah upon Muhammad And on the Day of Ressurection you will be recompensed For what you sent forth from the rememberance ofMuhammad And on the Day of Account when you are resurrected Have safety through the Salaah upon Muhammad And come to the Hawdh drinking from it full cups Then quench your thirst with the Salaah upon Muhammad And pass over the Bridge like a flash of lightning By the virtue of Salaah upon Muhammad And enter Paradise no death therein By what you preceded from the rememberance of Muhammad Then this in entirety is from the Bounty of my Lord He guided us to the Salaah upon Muhammad And live luxuriously in the Bliss and companions with beautiful eyes In the Abode our neighbour in it, Muhammad And look towards your Lord, full of Majesty With your rememberance of the Salaah upon Muhammad So we Praise Allah and Thank Him much For the Bounty of the Salaah upon Muhammad A Messenger Abtahi Hashimi Intercessor for sinners tomorrow, Muhammad Peace, that is Pleasant, Fragrant, Magnificent Upon the Chosen One, our Master Muhammad O Guide to creatures! and O Intercessor! And O Best of creation! O Muhammad! Perhaps I gain acceptance to Qaadiriyyah, It specialises in your Salutations, O Muhammad!

Importance Of Heart

It is strange that someone could attach importance to his face, when that is the focal point of the gaze of his fellow creatures! He washes and cleans his face, ridding it of dirt and stains, and makes it as beautiful as he possibly can, so that no creature willdetect any fault in it. But he pays no attention to his heart, though it is thefocal point of the gaze of the Lord of All the Worlds. He ought to purify his heart, adorn it and perfume it, so that the Lord (Magnificent is His Majesty) will not see it marred by any filth, dirt, stain or fault. Instead, he allows it to accumulate a mass of rubbish, filth and squalor, so disgusting that if his fellow creatures caught a glimpse of any part of it, they would avoid him shun him and chase him away! Allah is the One from whom help must be sought! [The Path of the Worshipful Servants - Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali]

Proof of God’s love for man..

God inspired David by saying, “If those who turn from Me knew how I wait for them and how tenderly I treat them and how I long for them to desist from their sins, they would die out of sheer longing for Me and their limbs would be hacked into pieces for love of Me. O David, this is My will for those who turn away from Me. How then would my will be for those who come towards Me? O David, man needs Me most when he thinks to dispense with Me. I am most compassionate of My servant when he turns to Me but man is most sublime when he comes back to Me.” - Imam al-Ghazzali in his Iyha Ulūm al-Dīn

The Ten Benefits of Hunger

Imam Ghazali’s 10 benefits of Hunger - 1. The first is the purification of the heart, the illumination of the natural dispostion and the sharpening of one`s insight.(According to Ghazali satiety(overeating) engenders stupidity and blindness in the heart). 2. The second benefit is a softness and purity of the heart, by which it is readied to attain the delight of intimate discourse with God and to be affected by His remembrance. 3. The third benefit lies in mortification and abasement, and the removal of exultation, rejoicing and exuberance, which comprise the beginning of rebellion and heedlessness. 4. The fourth benefit is that one comes never to forget God`s trials and torments, or those who areafflicted by them. For the man sated is liable to forget those people who are hungry, and to forgethunger itself. 5. The fifth and greatest benefit lies in the breakingof all one`s desires for sin and in achieving mastery over the soul which commands evil. According to Ghazali all sins originate in one`s desires and strength and when the source of that strength is cut off meaning one starts eating less then the desires become weak. 6. The sixth benefit consists in the repulsion of sleep and acquiring the ability to remain awake forlong periods. A man who eats his fill will drink abundantly and whoever drinks abundantly will sleep abundantly also. 7. The seventh benefit is that lengthy acts of worship are made easier. (He goes on to explain how food makes one lazy and the time that is taken in eating and preparing the food can be spent in worshipping much more) 8. The eight benefit is the bodily health which results from eating little. Again simple and something we over-look way too much on how eating less is much healthier etc etc and saves us from various diseases. 9. The ninth benefit lies in reduced expenditure. Whoever becomes used to eating little will find a modest income sufficent, whereas a man who is habituated to eating his fill will find that his belly becomes a creditor impossible to shake off, who seizes him by the throat every day saying `What will you eat today`. 10. The tenth benefit is that the aspirant is enabled to put others before himself and to give in charity to the orphans and the poor that which is surplus to his wants. He goes on to explain each benefit in length givingsome great narrations as always to back his points up. Just summarized these so I dont forget them. Source – Disciplining The Soul and Breaking The Two Desires.

Accepted deeds of sinner

It is related that a certain man deeply sunk in depravity once passed away in a certain district of Basra. His wife was unable to find anyone to help her carry him, since not one of her neighbours paid any heed on account of his great wickedness. So she hired some carriers, who bore him out to the prayer-place, where there was no-one to pray for him. Then she carried him out into the desert to bury him. Now, on a mountain close by there was one of the great ascetics, whom they described in the aspect of a man waiting for a funeral. [Sure enough], he cameand prayed for him. The news that the ascetic had done this spread throughout the city, and the people were greatly astouned that he should thus have prayed for him, but he told them, ‘I was instructed in a dream to decend to such-and-such a place, where I would see a man’s funeral attended only by a woman, and there to offer prayers for him, for he had been forgiven his sins.’ The people’s astonishment increased at this, until theascetic summoned the women and questioned her about the circumstances and behaviour of the dead man. ‘As people know, she said, ‘his entire day was spent in the tavern where he occupied himself with drinking wine.’ See now,’ he said, ‘do you know of any good deeds which were to his credit?’ ‘Yes, ‘she replied, ‘three things. Every day at dawn he used to awaken from his drunknessness, change his clothes, perform the ablution, and offer the Dawn Prayer with the congregation. Then he would return to the tavern and occupy himself with vice. Then second thing is that his house was never devoid of one or two orphans, to whom he showed even more kindness then he did to his own children, and for whom he was greatly solicitous. The third thing is that in the darkness of the night and in the very midst of his drunknessness he would awake, and weep, and say, “O Lord! Which corner of Hell do you wish to fill with this foul man?” – by which he meant himself. And so the ascetic when his way, the obscurity surrounding the affair having been cleared. We must always have a good opinion of the deceased even if he had been corrupt, and to have a poor opinion of oneself even if one may outwardly be pious. This is because the last momentis a perilous thing the true nature of which is unknown. --- Taken from Al-Ghazali (Radhi Allahu Ta'ala 'Anh), The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife – Ihya ulum al-din

Shaykh Abd Al Qadir Al Jilani's message for the students

"Know O! Student, that the beginning of the path is patience and its end is thankfulness. Its beginning is difficulty and its end is bliss. Its beginning is toil and weariness and its end is opening, unveiling and arrival at the ultimate goal which is gnosis of Allah, arrival to Him, being comforted by Him and standing in His Noble Presence with His angels standing before Him. The one who makes gracious patience the foundation of all his affairs turns to every goodness,reaches everything that he hopes for and wins all that he seeks." [Jala’ Al-Khawatir, The Removal of Cares]

Cleanliness has four stages:

1.Purifying the outward body from dirt and filth (like performing ablution and having a bath) 2.Purifying the limbs from breaking Allah Almighty’slaws & committing sins (like looking at haram, eating haram, lying and backbiting, tailbearing) 3.Purifying the heart from ill habits and blameworthy traits (like hatred, animosity, showing off etc) 4.Purifying the innerself (batin) from everything besides Allah Almighty (this is when every act is offered conciously for Allah Almighty and His pleasure) - Imam Ghazzali’s Iyha Ulum al-Din -