...The Naqshbandi Qasmi Zahidi Sufi Order...

Words of Wisdom

2010-11-11T11:02:00.000-05:00

Be flexible without being weak, be strong without being violent..

-Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib

Dear Friend

2010-11-10T19:21:00.000-05:00

Dear friend,
Your heart is a polished mirror.
You must wipe it dean of the veil of dust that has gathered upon it,
because it is destined to reflect the light of divine secrets.

- Imam abu Hamid al-Ghazali

The Story of the Visit of Satan, the Accursed

2010-11-10T17:11:00.001-05:00

This story reaches us from two sources. In Efendi's Irshad is a Hadith through Hazrat Anas ibn Malik (ra). In the last chapter of Hazrat Muhyiddin ibn Arabi's book Shajarat al-kawn ("The Tree of Being") is a version derived from a Hadith related by Mu'adh ibn Jabal from Hazrat Anas (ra). It is given below, supplemented by additional information from Hazrat Anas' report.

From us the humble retelling, from Allah the Understanding.

One day a congregation was gathered at the home of one of the Ansar around the Prophet (saw). [According to Hazrat Anas it was Abu Ayyub] In the middle of a wonderful discourse an ugly voice from the outside was heard saying, "O the ones inside, (or , "O Messenger of Allah!") would you permit me to enter? I have business with you!"

All looked at the Prophet (saw), who said to the ones present, "Do you recognize the owner of this voice?"

The Companions answered, "Allah and His Messenger know best."

The Prophet (saw) said, "It is Satan the Accursed."

On hearing that, Hazrat Umar (ra), who was present, pulling his sword, asked, "O Messenger of Allah, permit me to go and cut off his head!" ["Let me smash his skull and free the people from his trouble!"]

The Prophet (saw) replied, "No Umar, don't you know that you cannot kill him? He has permission to exist until Qiyaamah." Then he added, "Open the door and admit him, as he did not come on his own but on Allah's orders. [Or, "There is always an underlying reason for things.] Otherwise, he would not have come here. Listen to what he says, and try to understand."

Then Rawi (ra), one of the Companions, relates the tale:

They opened the door and he appeared ion front of us as an old man, cross-eyed [or blind in one eye] and scant of beard, with only six or seven long hairs hanging from his chin. He had a very big head, his crossed eyes close to the top of his head, high on his forehead, with big thick hanging lips like those of a water buffalo. He saluted the Prophet and the Companions, to which the Prophet (saw) responded, 'O Accursed, the salaam and salutations belong to Allah Most high.' Then he said, 'I heard you are here on business. What is it?' Satan said, 'I did not wish to come here, I was forced to - an angel came to me from your Lord, Who honors whom He wishes, and said, "Allah Most High orders you to Muhammad, but you will go to him in humility and abasement, and be submissive and tractable. You will tell him how you seduce and mislead humankind. You are going to answer all his questions truthfully, without a single lie." And Allah said that if I lied to you He would turn me into ashes and blow me away in the wind, and my enemies would laugh at me. I come with such orders, O Muhammad.' Then the Prophet asked the Devil, 'Tell me, who in the creation do you hate most?'

The Devil answered, 'You O Muhammad! ['And all the Prophets'] There is no one in the whole creation that I hate more. There is none other like you.'

The Messenger of Allah (saw) [confirmed that the Devil was his own, and all the Prophets' (as) greatest foe]. He asked, 'Whom else do you detest besides me?'

Satan said, 'The young ones who have given up their pleasures and themselves for Allah's sake; the men of knowledge who act upon their knowledge and who decline all that is doubtful; the ones who are clean. So clean that they wash thrice that which they wish to cleanse. Then the patient poor, who neither ask from others the things they need, nor complain. Then the thankful rich, who give alms lawfully and spend lawfully. [Hazrat Anas lists fourteen enemies after the Prophets (as): the knowledgeable who act on what they know; readers of the Qur'an who pattern themselves on it; those who call to prayer for Allah's sake; the satisfied poor; the compassionate; the generous; those who perform the morning prayer on time; advisors and reformers; abstainers from unlawful food and sexual relations; those who are always in ablution; the modest; those who place their trust in Allah; benefiters of the poor; the devout busy in Allah's service.]

Then the Prophet (saw) asked, 'What happens to you, O Accursed One, when my people do their prayers?'

'I shake and tremble as if stricken with malaria because I see your people raised in blessing and power each time they prostrate.'

'What happens to you, O Accursed, when my people fast?'

'I have my hands and feet tied until they break their fast.'

'What happens when they all meet on the Hajj at the house of their Lord?'

'I lose my wits, I go mad'

'What happens to you when they recite the Holy Qur'an?'

'I melt, like lead turning to hot liquid in the fire.'

'And when they pay alms?'

'I am torn to pieces, as if the generous donor took a saw and sawed me into four pieces. Because there are four beatitudes which the donor receives - the blessing of abundance, love and respect from Allah's creatures, a shield from hellfire, and relief from distress and troubles.'

Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) asked the Devil what he thought of his beloved Companions. About Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) he said, 'I hate him. Even before Islam he refused to obey, nay! Even to hear me. How can he now listen to me?' About Hazrat Umar ibn Al-Kattab (ra) he said, 'I run away whenever I see him!' About Hazrat Uthman ibn Affan (ra) he said, 'I am ashamed in front of him. Even the angels of mercy are ashamed in front of him.' And about Hazrat Ali ibn Abu Talib (ra) he said, 'O if I could just be safe from him, if he would just let me be, I would let him be. But he will not leave me alone!'

Having heard the answers of the accursed Satan the Prophet (saw) thanked Allah and said, 'Praise be to Allah Who has blessed my people with such felicity and cursed you with such negativity until that appointed time.'

When the Devil heard that, he said, 'Alas, alas for you, what felicity for your people? How can you feel there is safety for them as long as I exist? I enter their very veins, their very flesh, and they cannot even suspect, let alone see or feel me. I swear by Allah Who has given me time until Qiyaamah that I will seduce them all, the intelligent and the simple-minded, the learned as well as the ignorant, the devout as well as the sinner. None will be safe from me except the true servants of Allah.'

The Prophet (saw) asked, 'Who are the true servants of Allah, according to you?'

The Devil said, 'You know well, O Muhammad, that whomsoever loves his money and his property Allah does not count among his servants. Whenever I see someone who does not say "mine" and "me" , who does not love either money or flattery, I know he is truly a servant of Allah and I run away from him. As long as one loves money, property, flattery, he obeys me, he is my servant. I need many servants and I have many servants. I am not alone. I have 70,000 children, each of them with his assigned duties. Each of my 70,000 children has 70,000 satans serving him, all assigned to different posts. Many are with the young people and older women, and with the theologians and preachers and shaykhs. There are almost no differences of opinion between your young people and my devils, and your children play happily with my children. And some of the devout and some of the pious get along very well with my people! My devils lead the imagination of the pious from one height to another. Arrogant, they leave the sincerity of their devotions. Soon they fight with each other, and they don't even know what is happening to them. Then I whisper to them, "Disbelieve!", but when they disbelieve, I say, "I am free of you. Surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the Worlds." (Surah al-Hashr, ayat 16).'

Then the accursed Devil told how he profited from habits of man which he liked. About lying he said, 'Do you know, O Muhammad, that lying is from me and that I am the first liar? Whoever lies is my best friend; whoever swears to the truth of his lies is my beloved. You know, O Muhammad that I swore by Allah and lied to Adam and Eve. I swore to them both, "Surely I am a sincere advisor to you." (Surah al-Araf, ayat 21) I also love rejection and gossip. They are my delightful fruits. I detest loving families. If they think of rejecting each other, separating from each other, and talk about divorce, even if just once, the marriage bond in Allah's view is dissolved. The wife will be unlawful to the husband. When they sleep together, they will be adulterers. If they have a child he will be a bastard. I love all that.

'O Muhammad, let me tell you about my friends who abandon prayers or delay them. When it is time for prayer I make them imagine that there is still time, that they are busy. They should enjoy what they are doing, they can always pray later! I hope they will die before doing their next prayer, and some of them do. Even when they do their prayers late, their devotions are thrown in their faces. If I cannot succeed myself, I send them a human satan who will prevent them from their devotions. If I don't succeed again, I enter into their prayers. I tell them, "Look to the right, look to the left! Think of the past, plan your future!" And when they do I caress their cheeks and kiss their foreheads and take the peace from their hearts. You know, O Muhammad, that the prayers of those whose attention is outside of them or who are imagining things which do not belong in the presence of Allah are also rejected and thrown in their faces. And if I am not successful in that, I order them to do their prayers fast, and they

look like hens picking at grain. If I still don't succeed, I follow them to the congregational prayers and put bridles on their heads. I pull, and lift their heads from the prostration before the imam, and I push their heads down before the imam touches his head to the ground, and I am overjoyed to remember that Allah will turn those unruly heads into donkeys' heads on the Day of Judgment. If I am still not successful, I try at least to make them crack their fingers while they are making prayers. Then they will be among those who make my tasbih instead of Allah's tasbih. Or at least I will blow into their noses and make them yawn, and if they open their mouths a little devil will enter into them through their mouths and increase their love and ambition for this world. The one who loves and is ambitious for this world becomes my soldier; he obeys me and does as he is ordered.

'O Muhammad, if I have told a single lie, may scorpions bite me, and ask from Allah that he turn me into ashes. O Muhammad, do not be sure of your people. I have already converted a sixth of them, who have left their religion.'

Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) asked, 'O Accursed One, with whom do you most like to spend your time?'

'The usurer.'

'And your best friend?'

'The adulterer.'

'With whom do you share your bed?'

'The drunkard.'

'Who are your guests?'

'The thieves.'

'Who are your representatives?'

'The magicians and soothsayers.'

'What pleases you most?'

'Divorce'

'Whom do you love most?'

'Those who abandon their Friday prayers.'

[Hazrat Anas (ra) gives eight friends of Satan: tyrants and oppressors; the arrogant; servile scholars who hide the truth for the benefit of tyrants; dishonest tradesmen; drinkers of alcohol; dealers in fraud; slanderers; those who stir up trouble among friends.]

Then the Prophet (saw) asked, 'What breaks your heart, O Accursed One?'

'The determination and the firm footsteps of those who march against the enemies of Allah for Allah's sake.'

'What gives you pain?'

'The repentance of the penitent.'

'What makes you grimace?'

'The alms given in secret.'

'What makes your eyes blind?'

'The tahajjud prayer in the middle of the night.'

'What makes you bow your head?'

'Prayer done in congregation.'

The Prophet (saw) continued asking: 'O Satan, according to you, who are the happiest among people?'

'The ones who purposefully abandon their prayers.'

'And the best among people?'

'The miser.'

'What prevents you from doing your job?'

'The gathering of men of knowledge and their discourses.'

'How do you eat your food?'

'With my left hand and the tips of my fingers.'

'When the sun is hot, where do you seek shade?'

'Under people's dirty fingernails.'

Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) asked, 'What did you ask from my Lord on the day you were rejected from His presence?'

'I had ten requests which were accorded.'

'What were they, O Accursed One?'

'I asked Allah to make me a partner in the properties and children of the children of Adam. He gave that to me, and He said, "And incite whom thou canst with thy voice, and collect against them thy horse and thy foot, and share with them in wealth and children, and promise them. And the Devil promises them only to deceive." (Surah Bani Isra'il, ayat 64). I eat from the meat of animals killed without the basmalah and from the food bought by money gained through interest, injustice, and tyranny. I am the shareholder of the property whose owner does not take refuge in Allah from me. I am part father of the child which comes from intercourse performed without the basmalah. I am the traveling companion of the one who rides a vehicle which is going to an unlawful destination.

'I asked Allah to give me a house, and He gave me the public baths. I asked Allah to give me a temple, and He gave me the marketplaces as my temple. I asked Allah to give me a book. He gave me the books of poetry as my book. I asked for a call to prayer, and He gave me the dancing music. I asked for someone to share my bed, and He gave me the drunkard. I asked Allah for helpers. Allah gave me those who believe in free will. I asked Allah to give me brothers and sisters, and Allah gave me the squanderers who spend their money on evil things. Allah said, "Surely the squanderers are the Devil's brethren" (Surah Bani Isra'il, ayat 27). Then I asked Allah to be able to see the children of Adam while they are unable to see me, and He accorded that to me. I wished that the very veins of the children of Adam be my routes, and it was given to me. So I flow in their veins as I wish and enter their flesh. All these were given to me, and I am proud of what I have received. And let me add, O Muhammad, that there are more with me than there are with you, and until Qiyaamah there will be more with me than there are with you.'

Then the Prophet(saw) said, 'If you had not proven what you said with the verses of Allah's Book, it would have been hard for me to confirm what you say.'

The Devil continued, 'Do you know, O Muhammad, that I have a son whose name is Atam (in Arabic, the first third of the night)? He pisses in the ear of the people who go to sleep without performing their night prayers. His urine puts them to sleep, otherwise no one could have gone to bed without finishing their prayers. Then I have a son whose name is Mutaqadi (in Arabic, one who presses for payment). His duty is to publicize the prayers, the devotions, the good deeds which are done in secret for Allah's sake, because Allah promises to reward the good deed done secretly a hundred fold. When deeds are publicized and receive credit and praise from the creatures of Allah, Allah takes away ninety-nine of the promised one hundred rewards. Then I have a son whose name is Kuhayl (kohl). His duty is to put kohl on the eyes of those in the presence of wise men or preachers. The ones whose eyes he has touched start falling asleep. They are thus prevented from hearing the words of Allah or receiving any benefit from them.'

The Devil talked about women. He said, 'Whenever a woman leaves her seat a devil sits in her place. On the lap of every woman sits a satan who makes her desirable to whoever looks at her. Then he orders the woman to open and show her arms, her legs, and her breasts, and with his claws tears her veil of shame and decency.'

Then the Devil started to complain. He said, 'O Muhammad, in spite of all this I have no strength to take away the faith of the faithful. I only take away their faith when they throw it away. If I were able, there would be no one on the face of this world who could say LA ILAHA ILLALLAH, MUHAMMAD RASULULLAH, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his Messenger." I would not leave a single one to pray or fast. All I can do is to give the children of Adam imaginations, illusions and delusions, make the ugly appear beautiful, the wrong, right, and the bad, good. Neither do you have the power to give faith. You are only a proof of the truth, because I know that if you were given the power to give true faith you would not leave a single non-believer on the face of this world. The fortunate one who is a believer is fortunate in his mother's womb, and the rebellious sinner is a rebel in his mother's womb. As you are the guide of the fortunate, I am only the cause of sin of the ones who are destined to sin. Allah is He Who renders one fortunate and another rebellious.' Then he recited form Surah Hud, '"And if thy Lord has mercy, and for this did He create them. And the word of thy Lord is fulfilled. I shall fill Hell with jinn and men altogether." (Surah Hud, ayat 118-119).' He recited from Surah Ahzab, ayat 38: '"And the command of Allah is a decree that is made absolute."'

Then the Mercy upon the Universe told the Devil, 'O Father of All Bitterness, I wonder if it is at all possible for you to repent and return to your Lord. I promise I would intercede for you.'

The Accursed One answered, 'O Messenger of Allah, it is Allah's justice. The ink on the pen which wrote the judgment is dry. What will happen will happen until Qiyaamah. The One Who made you the master of all the Prophets, the speaker for the inhabitants of Paradise, the One Who chose you to be the beloved amongst all his creation, chose me to be the master of sinners and the speaker for the inhabitants of Hell. He is Allah, devoid of all lack. O Muhammad, this which I have told you is my last word to you, and I have told nothing but the truth.'"

"All praise is due to Allah the Lord of all the worlds which existed before and which will exist after, visible and invisible. And Allah's blessings upon our beloved master, the Beloved of Allah, Mercy upon the Universe, and upon his household and progeny and companions and friends who are loved by him, and upon the ones who love him." The Story of the Visit of Satan, the AccursedThis story reaches us from two sources. In our Efendi's Irshad is a Hadith through Hazrat Anas ibn Malik (ra). In the last chapter of Hazrat Muhyiddin ibn Arabi's book Shajarat al-kawn ("The Tree of Being") is a version derived from a Hadith related by Mu'adh ibn Jabal from Hazrat Anas (ra). It is given below, supplemented by additional information from Hazrat Anas' report. Sayyid Sharif Jurjani interprets Sharjarah in the title of Hazrat Ibn Arabi's book as "The Perfect Man" and kawn as "the scale of Being to which all beings should be compared for their qualification." The work describes the Perfect Man, Allah's Beloved and ours, the Light of Creation, Prophet Mohammad (saw). Insha'Allah one day it will be translated for the benefit and growth of my ikhwan and the family of the Path and Islam. In the meantime, this story with which we are partly familiar seemed to me most instructive. May Allah forgive me if I verbalize wrongly, but it seemed to me as if it is giving the raw material to the ones who wish and hope to become perfect men. From us the humble retelling, from Allah the Understanding. One day a congregation was gathered at the home of one of the Ansar around the Prophet (saw). [According to Hazrat Anas it was Abu Ayyub] In the middle of a wonderful discourse an ugly voice from the outside was heard saying, "O the ones inside, (or , "O Messenger of Allah!") would you permit me to enter? I have business with you!" All looked at the Prophet (saw), who said to the ones present, "Do you recognize the owner of this voice?" The Companions answered, "Allah and His Messenger know best." The Prophet (saw) said, "It is Satan the Accursed." On hearing that, Hazrat Umar (ra), who was present, pulling his sword, asked, "O Messenger of Allah, permit me to go and cut off his head!" ["Let me smash his skull and free the people from his trouble!"] The Prophet (saw) replied, "No Umar, don't you know that you cannot kill him? He has permission to exist until Qiyaamah." Then he added, "Open the door and admit him, as he did not come on his own but on Allah's orders. [Or, "There is always an underlying reason for things.] Otherwise, he would not have come here. Listen to what he says, and try to understand." Then Rawi (ra), one of the Companions, relates the tale: They opened the door and he appeared ion front of us as an old man, cross-eyed [or blind in one eye] and scant of beard, with only six or seven long hairs hanging from his chin. He had a very big head, his crossed eyes close to the top of his head, high on his forehead, with big thick hanging lips like those of a water buffalo. He saluted the Prophet and the Companions, to which the Prophet (saw) responded, 'O Accursed, the salaam and salutations belong to Allah Most high.' Then he said, 'I heard you are here on business. What is it?' Satan said, 'I did not wish to come here, I was forced to - an angel came to me from your Lord, Who honors whom He wishes, and said, "Allah Most High orders you to Muhammad, but you will go to him in humility and abasement, and be submissive and tractable. You will tell him how you seduce and mislead humankind. You are going to answer all his questions truthfully, without a single lie." And Allah said that if I lied to you He would turn me into ashes and blow me away in the wind, and my enemies would laugh at me. I come with such orders, O Muhammad.' Then the Prophet asked the Devil, 'Tell me, who in the creation do you hate most?' The Devil answered, 'You O Muhammad! ['And all the Prophets'] There is no one in the whole creation that I hate more. There is none other like you.' The Messenger of Allah (saw) [confirmed that the Devil was his own, and all the Prophets' (as) greatest foe]. He asked, 'Whom else do you detest besides me?' Satan said, 'The young ones who have given up their pleasures and themselves for Allah's sake; the men of knowledge who act upon their knowledge and who decline all that is doubtful; the ones who are clean. So clean that they wash thrice that which they wish to cleanse. Then the patient poor, who neither ask from others the things they need, nor complain. Then the thankful rich, who give alms lawfully and spend lawfully. [Hazrat Anas lists fourteen enemies after the Prophets (as): the knowledgeable who act on what they know; readers of the Qur'an who pattern themselves on it; those who call to prayer for Allah's sake; the satisfied poor; the compassionate; the generous; those who perform the morning prayer on time; advisors and reformers; abstainers from unlawful food and sexual relations; those who are always in ablution; the modest; those who place their trust in Allah; benefiters of the poor; the devout busy in Allah's service.] Then the Prophet (saw) asked, 'What happens to you, O Accursed One, when my people do their prayers?' 'I shake and tremble as if stricken with malaria because I see your people raised in blessing and power each time they prostrate.' 'What happens to you, O Accursed, when my people fast?' 'I have my hands and feet tied until they break their fast.' 'What happens when they all meet on the Hajj at the house of their Lord?' 'I lose my wits, I go mad' 'What happens to you when they recite the Holy Qur'an?' 'I melt, like lead turning to hot liquid in the fire.' 'And when they pay alms?' 'I am torn to pieces, as if the generous donor took a saw and sawed me into four pieces. Because there are four beatitudes which the donor receives - the blessing of abundance, love and respect from Allah's creatures, a shield from hellfire, and relief from distress and troubles.' Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) asked the Devil what he thought of his beloved Companions. About Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) he said, 'I hate him. Even before Islam he refused to obey, nay! Even to hear me. How can he now listen to me?' About Hazrat Umar ibn Al-Kattab (ra) he said, 'I run away whenever I see him!' About Hazrat Uthman ibn Affan (ra) he said, 'I am ashamed in front of him. Even the angels of mercy are ashamed in front of him.' And about Hazrat Ali ibn Abu Talib (ra) he said, 'O if I could just be safe from him, if he would just let me be, I would let him be. But he will not leave me alone!' Having heard the answers of the accursed Satan the Prophet (saw) thanked Allah and said, 'Praise be to Allah Who has blessed my people with such felicity and cursed you with such negativity until that appointed time.' When the Devil heard that, he said, 'Alas, alas for you, what felicity for your people? How can you feel there is safety for them as long as I exist? I enter their very veins, their very flesh, and they cannot even suspect, let alone see or feel me. I swear by Allah Who has given me time until Qiyaamah that I will seduce them all, the intelligent and the simple-minded, the learned as well as the ignorant, the devout as well as the sinner. None will be safe from me except the true servants of Allah.' The Prophet (saw) asked, 'Who are the true servants of Allah, according to you?' The Devil said, 'You know well, O Muhammad, that whomsoever loves his money and his property Allah does not count among his servants. Whenever I see someone who does not say "mine" and "me" , who does not love either money or flattery, I know he is truly a servant of Allah and I run away from him. As long as one loves money, property, flattery, he obeys me, he is my servant. I need many servants and I have many servants. I am not alone. I have 70,000 children, each of them with his assigned duties. Each of my 70,000 children has 70,000 satans serving him, all assigned to different posts. Many are with the young people and older women, and with the theologians and preachers and shaykhs. There are almost no differences of opinion between your young people and my devils, and your children play happily with my children. And some of the devout and some of the pious get along very well with my people! My devils lead the imagination of the pious from one height to another. Arrogant, they leave the sincerity of their devotions. Soon they fight with each other, and they don't even know what is happening to them. Then I whisper to them, "Disbelieve!", but when they disbelieve, I say, "I am free of you. Surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the Worlds." (Surah al-Hashr, ayat 16).' Then the accursed Devil told how he profited from habits of man which he liked. About lying he said, 'Do you know, O Muhammad, that lying is from me and that I am the first liar? Whoever lies is my best friend; whoever swears to the truth of his lies is my beloved. You know, O Muhammad that I swore by Allah and lied to Adam and Eve. I swore to them both, "Surely I am a sincere advisor to you." (Surah al-Araf, ayat 21) I also love rejection and gossip. They are my delightful fruits. I detest loving families. If they think of rejecting each other, separating from each other, and talk about divorce, even if just once, the marriage bond in Allah's view is dissolved. The wife will be unlawful to the husband. When they sleep together, they will be adulterers. If they have a child he will be a bastard. I love all that. 'O Muhammad, let me tell you about my friends who abandon prayers or delay them. When it is time for prayer I make them imagine that there is still time, that they are busy. They should enjoy what they are doing, they can always pray later! I hope they will die before doing their next prayer, and some of them do. Even when they do their prayers late, their devotions are thrown in their faces. If I cannot succeed myself, I send them a human satan who will prevent them from their devotions. If I don't succeed again, I enter into their prayers. I tell them, "Look to the right, look to the left! Think of the past, plan your future!" And when they do I caress their cheeks and kiss their foreheads and take the peace from their hearts. You know, O Muhammad, that the prayers of those whose attention is outside of them or who are imagining things which do not belong in the presence of Allah are also rejected and thrown in their faces. And if I am not successful in that, I order them to do their prayers fast, and they look like hens picking at grain. If I still don't succeed, I follow them to the congregational prayers and put bridles on their heads. I pull, and lift their heads from the prostration before the imam, and I push their heads down before the imam touches his head to the ground, and I am overjoyed to remember that Allah will turn those unruly heads into donkeys' heads on the Day of Judgment. If I am still not successful, I try at least to make them crack their fingers while they are making prayers. Then they will be among those who make my tasbih instead of Allah's tasbih. Or at least I will blow into their noses and make them yawn, and if they open their mouths a little devil will enter into them through their mouths and increase their love and ambition for this world. The one who loves and is ambitious for this world becomes my soldier; he obeys me and does as he is ordered. 'O Muhammad, if I have told a single lie, may scorpions bite me, and ask from Allah that he turn me into ashes. O Muhammad, do not be sure of your people. I have already converted a sixth of them, who have left their religion.' Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) asked, 'O Accursed One, with whom do you most like to spend your time?' 'The usurer.' 'And your best friend?' 'The adulterer.' 'With whom do you share your bed?' 'The drunkard.' 'Who are your guests?' 'The thieves.' 'Who are your representatives?' 'The magicians and soothsayers.' 'What pleases you most?' 'Divorce' 'Whom do you love most?' 'Those who abandon their Friday prayers.' [Hazrat Anas (ra) gives eight friends of Satan: tyrants and oppressors; the arrogant; servile scholars who hide the truth for the benefit of tyrants; dishonest tradesmen; drinkers of alcohol; dealers in fraud; slanderers; those who stir up trouble among friends.] Then the Prophet (saw) asked, 'What breaks your heart, O Accursed One?' 'The determination and the firm footsteps of those who march against the enemies of Allah for Allah's sake.' 'What gives you pain?' 'The repentance of the penitent.' 'What makes you grimace?' 'The alms given in secret.' 'What makes your eyes blind?' 'The tahajjud prayer in the middle of the night.' 'What makes you bow your head?' 'Prayer done in congregation.' The Prophet (saw) continued asking: 'O Satan, according to you, who are the happiest among people?' 'The ones who purposefully abandon their prayers.' 'And the best among people?' 'The miser.' 'What prevents you from doing your job?' 'The gathering of men of knowledge and their discourses.' 'How do you eat your food?' 'With my left hand and the tips of my fingers.' 'When the sun is hot, where do you seek shade?' 'Under people's dirty fingernails.' Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) asked, 'What did you ask from my Lord on the day you were rejected from His presence?' 'I had ten requests which were accorded.' 'What were they, O Accursed One?' 'I asked Allah to make me a partner in the properties and children of the children of Adam. He gave that to me, and He said, "And incite whom thou canst with thy voice, and collect against them thy horse and thy foot, and share with them in wealth and children, and promise them. And the Devil promises them only to deceive." (Surah Bani Isra'il, ayat 64). I eat from the meat of animals killed without the basmalah and from the food bought by money gained through interest, injustice, and tyranny. I am the shareholder of the property whose owner does not take refuge in Allah from me. I am part father of the child which comes from intercourse performed without the basmalah. I am the traveling companion of the one who rides a vehicle which is going to an unlawful destination. 'I asked Allah to give me a house, and He gave me the public baths. I asked Allah to give me a temple, and He gave me the marketplaces as my temple. I asked Allah to give me a book. He gave me the books of poetry as my book. I asked for a call to prayer, and He gave me the dancing music. I asked for someone to share my bed, and He gave me the drunkard. I asked Allah for helpers. Allah gave me those who believe in free will. I asked Allah to give me brothers and sisters, and Allah gave me the squanderers who spend their money on evil things. Allah said, "Surely the squanderers are the Devil's brethren" (Surah Bani Isra'il, ayat 27). Then I asked Allah to be able to see the children of Adam while they are unable to see me, and He accorded that to me. I wished that the very veins of the children of Adam be my routes, and it was given to me. So I flow in their veins as I wish and enter their flesh. All these were given to me, and I am proud of what I have received. And let me add, O Muhammad, that there are more with me than there are with you, and until Qiyaamah there will be more with me than there are with you.' Then the Prophet(saw) said, 'If you had not proven what you said with the verses of Allah's Book, it would have been hard for me to confirm what you say.' The Devil continued, 'Do you know, O Muhammad, that I have a son whose name is Atam (in Arabic, the first third of the night)? He pisses in the ear of the people who go to sleep without performing their night prayers. His urine puts them to sleep, otherwise no one could have gone to bed without finishing their prayers. Then I have a son whose name is Mutaqadi (in Arabic, one who presses for payment). His duty is to publicize the prayers, the devotions, the good deeds which are done in secret for Allah's sake, because Allah promises to reward the good deed done secretly a hundred fold. When deeds are publicized and receive credit and praise from the creatures of Allah, Allah takes away ninety-nine of the promised one hundred rewards. Then I have a son whose name is Kuhayl (kohl). His duty is to put kohl on the eyes of those in the presence of wise men or preachers. The ones whose eyes he has touched start falling asleep. They are thus prevented from hearing the words of Allah or receiving any benefit from them.' The Devil talked about women. He said, 'Whenever a woman leaves her seat a devil sits in her place. On the lap of every woman sits a satan who makes her desirable to whoever looks at her. Then he orders the woman to open and show her arms, her legs, and her breasts, and with his claws tears her veil of shame and decency.' Then the Devil started to complain. He said, 'O Muhammad, in spite of all this I have no strength to take away the faith of the faithful. I only take away their faith when they throw it away. If I were able, there would be no one on the face of this world who could say LA ILAHA ILLALLAH, MUHAMMAD RASULULLAH, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his Messenger." I would not leave a single one to pray or fast. All I can do is to give the children of Adam imaginations, illusions and delusions, make the ugly appear beautiful, the wrong, right, and the bad, good. Neither do you have the power to give faith. You are only a proof of the truth, because I know that if you were given the power to give true faith you would not leave a single non-believer on the face of this world. The fortunate one who is a believer is fortunate in his mother's womb, and the rebellious sinner is a rebel in his mother's womb. As you are the guide of the fortunate, I am only the cause of sin of the ones who are destined to sin. Allah is He Who renders one fortunate and another rebellious.' Then he recited form Surah Hud, '"And if thy Lord has mercy, and for this did He create them. And the word of thy Lord is fulfilled. I shall fill Hell with jinn and men altogether." (Surah Hud, ayat 118-119).' He recited from Surah Ahzab, ayat 38: '"And the command of Allah is a decree that is made absolute."' Then the Mercy upon the Universe told the Devil, 'O Father of All Bitterness, I wonder if it is at all possible for you to repent and return to your Lord. I promise I would intercede for you.' The Accursed One answered, 'O Messenger of Allah, it is Allah's justice. The ink on the pen which wrote the judgment is dry. What will happen will happen until Qiyaamah. The One Who made you the master of all the Prophets, the speaker for the inhabitants of Paradise, the One Who chose you to be the beloved amongst all his creation, chose me to be the master of sinners and the speaker for the inhabitants of Hell. He is Allah, devoid of all lack. O Muhammad, this which I have told you is my last word to you, and I have told nothing but the truth.'" "All praise is due to Allah the Lord of all the worlds which existed before and which will exist after, visible and invisible. And Allah's blessings upon our beloved master, the Beloved of Allah, Mercy upon the Universe, and upon his household and progeny and companions and friends who are loved by him, and upon the ones who love him."

Qasida Qad Kaffani Ilmu

2010-11-10T08:50:00.005-05:00

My Lord’s knowledge has sufficed me
from asking or choosing

For my du’a and my agonising supplication
is a witness to my poverty.

For this secret (reason) I make supplication
in times of ease and times of difficulty

I am a slave whose pride
is in his poverty and obligation.

O my Lord and my King
You know my state.

And what has settled in my heart
of agonies and preoccupations.

Save me with a gentleness
from You, O Lord of Lords.

Oh save me, Most Generous
before I run out of patience (with myself)

My Lord’s knowledge has sufficed me
from asking or choosing

O One who is swift in sending aid
I ask for aid that will arrive to me swiftly

It will defeat all difficulty
and it will bring all that I hope for

O Near One Who answers
and All-Knowing and All-Hearing

I have attained realisation through my incapacity,
my submission and my brokenness

My Lord’s knowledge has sufficed me
from asking or choosing

I am still standing by the door, so please my Lord
have mercy on my standing.

And in the valley of generosity, I am in i’tikaf (solitary retreat)
So, Allah, make my retreat here permanent.

And I’m abiding by good opinion (of You)
For it is my friend and ally.

And it is the one that sits by me and keeps me company
All day and night.

My Lord’s knowledge has sufficed me
from asking or choosing

There is a need in my soul, O Allah
so please fulfil it, O Best of Fulfillers

And comfort my secret and my heart
from its burning and its shrapnel

In pleasure and in happiness
and as long as You are pleased with me

For joy and expansion is my state
and my motto and my cover.

My Lord’s knowledge has sufficed me
from asking or choosing

وَاستَغفِرِ اللَّهَ

2010-10-21T05:25:00.000-05:00

وَاستَغفِرِ اللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كانَ غَفورًا رَحيمًا
Holy Quran chapter 4. النساء verse 106

Seek forgiveness from God. He is All-forgiving and All-merciful

...اَللّٰهُمَّ اِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّيْ
O Allah! You are the One who pardons, The Most Generous; You love to pardon, so pardon me. (Tirmizi)

Let not your tongue mention...

2010-10-21T05:22:00.000-05:00

"Let not your tongue mention the shame of another For you yourself are covered in shame and all men have tongues. If your eye falls upon the sins of your brother Shield them and say: “O my eye! All men have eyes!”

- Imam Ash-Shaafi'ee

A Slap in the face answers all...

2009-05-01T15:30:00.002-05:00

There was a young man who went overseas to study for quite a long time. When he returned, he asked his parents to find him a religious scholar or any expert who could answer his 3 questions. Finally,his parents were able to find a Muslim scholar.

Young man: Who are you? Can you answer my questions?
Scholar: I am one of Allah SubHanahu Wa Ta`ala's slaves and Insha- Allah (God willing), I will be able to answer your questions.
Young man : Are you sure? A lot of Professors and experts were not able to answer my questions.
Scholar: I will try my best, with the help of Allah SubHanahu Wa Ta`ala .

Young Man: I have 3 questions:
1. Does God exist? If so, show me His shape.
2. What is takdir (fate)?
3. If Shaithaan (Devil) was created from the fire, why at the end will he be thrown into hell that is also created from fire. It certainly will not hurt him at all, since Shaithaan (Devil) and hell are created from fire. Did Almighty Allah not think of it this far?

Suddenly, the Scholar slapped the young man's face very hard.
Young Man (feeling pain): Why did you get angry at me?
Scholar: I am not angry. The slap is my answer to your three questions.
Young Man: I really don't understand.
Scholar: How do you feel after I slapped you?
Young Man: Of course, I felt the pain.
Scholar: So do you believe that pain exists?
Young Man: Yes.
Scholar: Show me the shape of the pain!
Young Man: I cannot.
Scholar: That is my first answer. All of us feel Almighty Allah's existence without being able to see His shape.
Scholar: Last night, did you dream that you will be slapped by me?
Young Man: No.
Scholar: Did you ever think that you will get a slap from me, today?
Young Man: No.
Scholar: That is Taqdir (fate).
Scholar: My hand that I slapped you with, what is it created from?
Young Man: It is created from skin.
Scholar: How about your face, what is it created from?
Young Man: Skin.
Scholar: How do you feel after I slapped you?
Young Man: In pain.
Scholar: Even though Shaithaan (Devil) and hell are created from fire, if Allah wants, Insha-Allah (God willing), hell will become a very painful place for Shaithaan (Devil).

The Hadith of Jibreel (as)

2008-11-29T18:35:00.001-05:00

`Umar ibn Khattab (Allah be well pleased with him) said:

“As we were sitting one day before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), a man suddenly appeared. He wore pure white clothes and his hair was dark black—yet there were no signs of travel on him, and none of us knew him.
He came and sat down in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), placing his knees against his, and his hands on his thighs. He said, “O Muhammad! Tell me about Islam.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “Islam is to bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God; and to perform the prayer; pay zakat; fast Ramadan; and to perform Hajj to the House if you are able.”
The man said, “You have spoken the truth,” and we were surprised that he asked and then confirmed the answer.
Then, he asked, “Tell me about belief (iman).”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “It is to believe in Allah; His Angels; His Books; His Messengers; the Last Day; and in destiny—its good and bad.”
The man said, “You have spoken the truth. Now, tell me about spiritual excellence (ihsan).”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “It is to serve Allah as though you behold Him; and if you don’t behold him, (know that) He surely sees you.”
“Now, tell me of the Last Hour,” asked the man.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “The one asked knows no more of it than the one asking.”
“Then tell me about its signs,” said the man.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “That slave women give birth to their mistresses; and that you see barefoot, unclothed, beginning shepherds competing in the construction of tall buildings.”
Then the visitor left, and I waited a long time. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me, “Do you know, Umar, who the questioner was?”
I replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”He said (Allah bless him and give him peace), “It was Jibril. He came to you to teach you your religion.”
[Sahih Muslim]

Words

2008-06-04T07:58:00.001-05:00

IF words come out of the heart,

they will enter the heart,

but if they come from the tongue,

they will not pass beyond the ears.

Al-Suhrawardi

Oh Supreme Lover!!

2008-05-30T14:08:00.001-05:00

Oh! Supreme Lover!
Let me leave aside my worries.
The flowers are blooming with the exultation of your Spirit.
By Allah!
I long to escape the prison of my ego and
lose myself in the mountains and the desert.
These sad and lonely people tire me.
I long to revel in the drunken frenzy of
your love and feel the strength of Rustam in my hands.
I'm sick of mortal kings.
I long to see your light.
With lamps in hand
the sheikhs and mullahs roam
the dark alleys of these towns
not finding what they seek.
You are the Essence of the Essence,The intoxication of Love.
I long to sing your praises but stand mute
with the agony of wishing in my heart.

Jalaluddin Rumi

The Eternal, The Everlasting, The Satisfier of Every Need

2008-05-21T11:00:00.003-05:00

The Eternal, The Everlasting, The Satisfier of Every Need

The One who is eternal and above whom there is none.

The One who is unaffected, unchanged, and without any needs.

The One who is besought by all, and who is above all.

The One who can satisfy every need and without whom no affair could be accomplished.

The One who satisfies every need as it should be satisfied, and not necessarily as mankind might imagine.

The One who is the sole recourse, the only one to turn to.

The One upon whom all depend, yet who does depend on any.

Seeker Of Refuge...

2008-04-25T04:35:00.000-05:00

The foot knows its own shoe in the dark;
how should the soul not know its own body?
Dawn is a little resurrection: seeker of refuge,
judge from it what the greater resurrection will be like.
Even as the soul flies toward the clay of its body,
the scroll of one's good and harmful actions
will fly into the left or right hand.

Mathnawi V, Maulana Jallaluddin Rumi, may Allah sanctify his soul & bless his secret

"The Holy Prophet (PBUH) once asked...."

2008-04-15T14:38:00.002-05:00

Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah (radi Allahau anhu) has narrated:

"The Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) once asked Hadhrat Jibreel (alaihi salaam): "How old are you?"

Jibreel (alaihi salaam) replied, "I don't have much recollection about the exact age. However, I do remember seeing a star in (meaning behind) the fourth hijab (veil) of Honour. That star would appear once every seventy thousand years, and I have seen the star seventy two thousand times."

Upon hearing this, the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) replied: "I swear by the honour of my Allah Jalla-Jalaluhu that star was me."

[Imam Bukhari in Tarikh-ul-Kabir, Imam an-Nubhani in Jawahirul-Nihar, Imam Ismail al-Haqqi in Tafsir ruhul-Bayan]

Subhan Allah!

"The Nearest.!"

2008-03-30T09:18:00.000-05:00

Jesus alaihi salaam peace be upon him passed by three people whose bodies had become thin and their color changed; so he asked of them: 'What has made you like this?' They answered: fear of hell fire. Jesus said: Allah has obligated upon Himself to diminish your fear. Then he went on his way and came across three more who had become even more thinner and whose color had also changed; so he said to them: 'What has made you like this?' They answered: longing for paradise! He said: 'Allah has obligated upon Himself to give you what you long for.' Then as he traveled on he came across another three who were even more thinner than the previous and whose color had changed. Their faces shone like lights as if they were mirrors so he asked them: 'What has made you like this?' They answered: 'We love Allah, the Mighty, the Glorified', whereupon he replied: 'You are the nearest, the nearest!'

-Imam Al Ghazali, Hujjatul Islam/Proof of Islam,may Allah be well pleased with him

Who Is The Sufi...

2008-03-26T12:35:00.003-05:00

'The Sufi is not the one who is always carrying the prayer rug, nor the one who is wearing patched clothes, nor the one who keeps certain customs and appearances; but the Sufi is the one to whom everyone's focus is drawn, although he is hiding himself.'

Abul Hassan Ali ibn Jafar Al-Kharqani,
the great Naqshbandi Master, may Allah sanctify his soul & bless his secret

The Beloveds (PBUH) Physical Attributes

2008-03-19T12:28:00.003-05:00

Know, may Allah illuminate my heart and yours and increase my love and your love for this noble Prophet! - that if you were to look into all those qualities of perfection which cannot be acquired and which are part of one's constitution, you will find that the Prophet has every one of them - all of the various good qualities without there being any dispute about it among the transmitters of the traditions.

The beauty of his form and the perfect proportion of his limbs are related in numerous sound and famous traditions from 'Ali, Anas ibn Malik, Abu Hurayra, Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, 'A'isha, Ibn Abi Hala, Abu Juhayfa, Jabir ibn Samura, Umm Ma'bad, Ibn 'Abbas, Mu'arrid ibn Mu'ayqib, Abu't-Tufayl, Al-'Ida' ibn Khalid, Khuraym ibn Fatik, Hakim ibn Hizam and others.

He had the most radiant colouring, deep black eyes which were wide set and had a sort of red tint to them, long eyelashes, a bright complexion, an aquiline nose, and a gap between his fronth teeth. His face was round with a wide brow and he had a thick beard which reached his chest. His chest and abdomen were of equal size. He was broad-chested with broad shoulders. He had large bones, large arms, thick palms and soles, long fingers, fair skin and fine hair from the chest to the navel. He was neither tall nor short, but between the two. In spite of that, no tall person who walked with the Prophet seemed taller than him. His hair was neither curly nor straight. When he laughed and his teeth showed, it was like a flash of lighting or they seemed as white as hailstones. When he spoke, it was like light issuing from between his teeth. He had a well-formed neck, neither broad nor fat. He had a compact body which was not fleshy.

Al-Bara' said, "I did not see anyone with a more beautiful lock of hair resting on a red robe than the Messenger of Allah."

Abu Hurayra said, "I have not seen anything more beautiful than the Messenger of Allah. It was as if the sun was shining in his face. When he laughed, it reflected on the wall."

Jabir ibn Samura was asked, ''Was his face like a sword?" He replied, "No, it was like the sun and the moon. It was round." (In al-Bukhari and Muslim and elsewhere)

In her description, Umm Ma'bad said, "From afar, he was the most beautiful of people, and close up he was the most handsome." (Al-Bayhaqi)

Ibn Abi Hala said, "His face shone like the full moon."

At the end of his description, 'Ali said, "Anyone who saw him suddenly was filled with awe of him. Those who kept his company loved him."

All who described him said they had not see anyone like him either before or since.
There are many famous hadith which describe him. We will not take the time here to give them all. We have restricted ourselves to some aspects of his description and given a summary of them which is enough to serve our purpose.

You will find, Allah willing, that we have concluded these sections with a hadith which combines all these things.

Kitab ash-Shifa bi Ta'rif Huquq al-Mustafa

Qadi 'Iyad

Every Beat Of My Heart Goes...

2008-03-19T11:01:00.000-05:00

Cling To Surrender..

2008-02-06T15:20:00.000-05:00

The sea doesn't let the fish out,nor does it let the creatures of the earth in.Water is the original home of the fish;the weighty animal is of the earth.Nothing we do can change this.The lock of Divine destiny is strong,and the only opener is God:cling to surrender and contentment with God's will.Though the atoms, one by one, should become keys,yet this opening is not effected except by divine Majesty.When you forget your own scheming,happiness will come to you from your spiritual guide.When you are forgetful of self,you are remembered by God;when you have become God's slave,then you are set free.

-Mathnawi III, Maulana Jallaluddin Rumi, may Allah sanctify his soul & bless his secret

" Behold in the Remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction." (13-28)

2008-01-29T07:20:00.000-05:00

" O ye who believes remember Allah very often and glorify Him morning and evening." (33:41-2)

2008-01-28T07:25:00.000-05:00

99 Names Of Allah

2007-08-11T13:04:00.000-05:00

"The wish of the hearts of the faithful can only be fulfilled with the remembrance of Allah, for hearts are only satisfied by remembering Allah." (Qur-an)

"Remember Allah often and praise Him day and night." (Qur-an)

"Remember Me so that I will remember you, be thankful to Me so that you are not led to faithlessness." (Quran)

2007-07-16T21:40:00.001-05:00

I am a Bird...

2007-07-15T22:33:00.000-05:00

I am a bird of God's garden

and I do not belong to this dusty world

For a day or two they have put me here

in this cage of my own body

I did not come here of my own I will not return of my own

to my own country.

-Jalaluddin al-Rumi

Muhammad (PBUH) I wish I...

2007-06-09T11:44:00.000-05:00

O' My Servant...

2007-06-01T22:59:00.000-05:00

In a hadith-e-Qudsi: On the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) relates that Allah said:

"O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another.

O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you,

O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you.

O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you.

O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you.

O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and will not attain benefitting Me so as to benefit Me.

O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything.

O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything.

O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more that a needle decreases the sea if put into it.

O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him who finds good, praise Allah and let him who finds other that blame no one but himself."

related by Muslim,Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah

The man who committed 99 murders

2007-05-28T22:16:00.000-05:00

There was a man who had heartlessly murdered ninety-nine people. Then, he felt remorse.

He went to a learned man and told him about his past, explaining that he wished to repent, reform, and become a better person. "I wonder if Allah will pardon me?" he asked.

For all his learning, the scholar was a man who had not been able to digest what he had learned. "You will not be pardoned;' he said. "Then I may as well kill you, too," said the other. And kill him he did.

He then found another worthy individual and told him that he had killed a hundred people. "I wonder," he said, "whether Allah will pardon me if I repent?" Being a truly wise man, he replied, "Of course you will be pardoned; repent at once. I have just one piece of advice for you: avoid the company of wicked people and mix with good people, for bad company leads one into sin:"

The man expressed repentance and regret, weeping as he sincerely implored his Lord to pardon him. Then, turning his back on bad company, he set off to find a neighborhood where righteous people lived.

On the way, his appointed hour arrived, and he died. The angels of punishment and of mercy both came to take away his soul. The angels of punishment said that as a sinful person he rightfully belonged to them, but the angels of mercy also claimed him, saying, "He repented and had resolved to become a good man. He was on his way to a place where righteous people live, but his appointed hour had come." A great debate ensued, and Gabriel was sent as an arbitrator to settle this affair.

After hearing both sides he gave this verdict: "Measure the ground. If the spot where he died is closer to the good people, then he belongs to the angels of mercy, but if it is nearer to the wicked people, he will be given to the angels of punishment."

They measured the ground. Because the man had just set out, he was still closer to the wicked. But because he was sincere in his repentance, the Lord moved the spot where he lay and brought it to just outside the city of the good people.

That penitent servant was handed over to the angels of merry.

-The following was based on a hadith from Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 56, Number 676

Stay close by the Door

2007-05-19T13:16:00.000-05:00

Stay close by the door, if you desire all Beauty
And leave aside sleep, if you wish to arrive
And make of the spirit your first place of account
To the Beloved, Whose Light shines as from gold
All of them worship out of fear of the fire –
And consider deliverance abundant good fortune -
Or, so they may dwell in the gardens, and reach
To the meadows of paradise, and there drink from its rivers
Of gardens or fire I have no opinion
I seek no exchange for my Dearest Love

-Rabia Al ‘Adawiyya

There is a candle in your heart...

2007-05-16T21:37:00.000-05:00

There is a candle in your heart,

ready to be kindled.

There is a void in your soul,

ready to be filled.

You feel it, don't you?

You feel the separation

from the Beloved.

Invite Him to fill you up,

embrace the fire.

Remind those who tell you otherwise that

Love comes to you of its own accord,

and the yearning for it cannot be learned in any school.

-Rumi

God Speaks to Moses

2007-05-05T12:08:00.000-05:00

One day God spoke to Moses and said:
'Visit Satan, question him, use your head.'
So Moses descended to Hells burning halls;
Satan saw him coming, a smile did he install
On his fiery face. Moses proudly asked him
For advice, waiting for Satan's crafty whim;
Satan spoke through his coal-black teeth:
'Remember this rule which sense bequeaths
Never say "I" so that you become like me.'
So long as you live for yourself you'll be
A drum booming pride a cymbal of infidelity.
Vanity, resentment, envy and anger shall be cemented
Into your inner state; you shall be like a demented
Dog with lolling tongue, infected with indolence of sin.
You shall become your own tracked prisoner within.

-Farid ud-Din Attar
The Conference of the Birds

One God

2007-04-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

Would you think it odd if Hafiz said,
“I am in love with every church
And mosque
And temple
And any kind of shrine
Because I know it is there
That people say the different names
Of the One God.”

-Hafiz

Weekly Gathering

2007-04-25T21:37:00.000-05:00

Announcement

The Weekly Mehfil -e- Zikr & Khatam Khwajagan
will be held at Br. Qayyum's Home in Brooklyn NY
This Sunday 04/29/07 at 8:15 pm inshallah.

If you have any questions
in regards to directions please
contact me at
NaqshbandiNYC@Gmail.com

For Those who can not attend
may call in and participate via Tele-Conference
the dial in number is (712) 775-7100
Participant Access Code: 136732#

Qaseedah Burdah Sharif

2007-04-22T12:47:00.000-05:00

The Qaseedah Burdah, (The Poem of the Scarf) or the Mantle or Cloak of Rasoolullaha (PBUH) is a Qaseedah (panegyric) composed by Hazrat Imaam Saalih Sharaf-ud-Deen Abu Abdullah Muhammad Bin Hasan Al-Busiri رحمة الله عليه in the praise of Rasoolullaha (PBUH). Imam Busiriرحمة الله عليهwas born in Egypt in 608 A.H. and died in 695 A.H.

Imam Busiriرحمة الله عليه composed the Qaseedah after suffering from a stroke which left him partially paralyzed. He رحمة الله عليهprayed to Allah Almighty to make well and bestow him recovery from his disease. Then, after praying, heرحمة الله عليه fell asleep. In his dream, he رحمة الله عليه saw himself reciting the Qaseedah upon Nabi Akram (PBUH). After reciting, Nabi Akram (PBUH) touched the paralyzed part of his body and put his Burdah (blanket) over him. When Hadhrat Imaam Saalih Sharaf-ud-Deen Al-Busiri رحمة الله عليه awoke, he رحمة الله عليه discovered that he رحمة الله عليه had been cured of his paralysis.

Since then, the verses of The Qaseedah Burdah have been learnt by heart and many people have inscribed on the walls of mosques and religious institutes all over the Muslim world; and it is also recited with eager, spirit and love.

It's also nice to learn that more than 90 commentaries have been written on this Qaseedah Burdah; and has been translated in many languages of the world including Turkish, Urdu, Berber, Punjabi, German, French, English, Persian and Saraiki.

Advice

2007-04-19T21:23:00.000-05:00

Weekly Gathering

2007-04-19T20:52:00.000-05:00

Announcement

The Weekly Mehfil -e- Zikr & Khatam Khwajagan

will be held at Br. Hasans Home in Brooklyn NY

This Saturday 04/21/07 at 8:15 pm inshallah
if you have any questions

in regards to directions please

contact me at

NaqshbandiNYC@Gmail.com

For Those who can not attend

can call in and participate via Tele-Conference

the dial in number is (712) 775-7100

Participant Access Code: 136732#

Qasida in praise of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

2007-04-17T19:20:00.000-05:00

When I saw his light shining forth,
In fear I covered my eyes with my palms,
Afraid for my sight because of the beauty of his form.
So I was scarcely able to look at him at all.
The lights from his light are drowned in his light
and his face shines out like the sun and moon in one.
A spirit of light lodged in a body like the moon,
a mantle made up of brilliant shining stars.
I bore it until I could bear it no longer.
I found the taste of patience to be like bitter aloes.
I could find no remedy to bring me relief
other than delighting in the sight of the one I love.
Even if he had not brought any clear signs with him,
the sight of him would dispense with the need for them.
Muhammad is a human being but not like other human beings.
Rather he is a flawless diamond and the rest of mankind is just stones.
Blessings be on him so that perhaps Allah may have mercy on us
on that burning Day when the Fire is roaring forth its sparks

-Hassan ibn Thabit (R.A)

His Blessed Mercy

2007-04-15T13:41:00.000-05:00

Sometimes in order to help He makes us cry

Happy the eye that sheds tears for His sake

Fortunate the heart that burns for His sake

Laughter always follow tears

Blessed are those who understand

Life blossoms wherever water flows

Where tears are shed divine mercy is shown

-Rumi

Fifty Words Of Wisdom From Prophet Muhammad (‘alayhis Salātu Was Salām)

2007-04-15T12:15:00.000-05:00

1.. "Acquire knowledge, it enables its professor to distinguish right from wrong; it lights the way to heaven. It is our friend in the desert, our company in solitude and companion when friendless. It guides us to happiness, it sustains us in misery, it is an ornament amongst friends and an armour against enemies." (widely attributed to the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh))

2.. "A Muslim who plants a tree or sows a field, from which man, birds and animals can eat, is committing an act of charity." (Muslim)

3.. "There is a polish for everything that takes away rust; and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of Allah." (Bukhari)

4.. "What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of human beings, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to remove the sufferings of the injured." (Bukhari)

5.. "The most excellent Jihad is that for the conquest of self." (Bukhari)

6.. "If you put your whole trust in Allah, as you ought, He most certainly will satisfy your needs, as He satisfies those of the birds. They come out hungry in the morning, but return full to their nests." (Tirmidhi)

7.. "When Allah created his creatures He wrote above His throne: 'Verily, my Compassion overcomes my wrath." (Bukhari & Muslim)

8.. "Allah will not give mercy to anyone, except those who give mercy to other creatures." (Abdullah b. Amr: Abu Daud & Tirmidhi)

9.. " 'Son, if you are able, keep your heart from morning till night and from night till morning free from malice towards anyone.' Then the Prophet said: 'O my son! This is one of my laws, and he, who loves my laws verily loves me.' " (Bukhari)

10.. "Say what is true, although it may be bitter and displeasing to people." (Baihaqi)

11.. "Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever is not kind has no faith." (Muslim)

12.. "When you see a person who has been given more than you in money and beauty, look to those, who have been given less." (Muslim)

13.. "If you do not feel ashamed of anything, then you can do whatever you like." (Abu-Masud: Bukhari)

14.. "O Lord, grant me your love, grant me that I love those who love you; grant me, that I might do the deeds that win your love. Make your love dearer to me than the love of myself, my family and wealth." (Tirmidhi)

15.. "It is better to sit alone than in company with the bad; and it is better still to sit with the good than alone. It is better to speak to a seeker of knowledge than to remain silent; but silence is better than idle words." (Bukhari)

16.. "Verily, a man teaching his child manners is better than giving one bushel of grain in alms." (Muslim)

17.. "Whoever is kind, Allah will be kind to him; therefore be kind to man on the earth. He Who is in heaven will show mercy on you."(Abu Daud: Tirmidhi)

18.. "It is difficult for a man laden with riches to climb the steep path, that leads to bliss." (Muslim)

19.. "Once a man, who was passing through a road, found a branch of a tree with torns obstructing it. The man removed the thorns from the way. Allah thanked him and forgave his sins." (Bukhari)

20.. "Who are the learned? Those who practice what they know." (Bukhari)

21.. "Allah has revealed to me, that you must be humble. No one should boast over one another, and no one should oppress another." (Iyad b. Hinar al-Mujashi: Muslim)

22.. "Who is the most favoured of Allah? He, from whom the greatest good comes to His creatures." (Bukhari)

23.. "A true Muslim is thankful to Allah in prosperity, and resigned to His will in adversity." (Muslim)

24.. "A Muslim who meets with others and shares their burdens is better than one who lives a life of seclusion and contemplation." (Muslim)

25.. "Serve Allah, as you would if you could see Him; although you cannot see Him, He can see you. (Umar: Muslim)

26.. "Allah does not look at your appearance or your possessions; but He looks at your heart and your deeds." (Abu Huraira: Muslim)

27.. "The best richness is the richness of the soul." (at the field ofTabuk, Syria, Rajab 9 A.H.: Bukhari)

28.. "Keep yourselves far from envy; because it eats up and takes away good actions, like a fire eats up and burns wood." (Abu Daud)

29.. "Much silence and a good disposition, there are no two things better than these." (Bukhari)

30.. "Verily, Allah is mild and is fond of mildness, and He gives to the mild what He does not give to the harsh." (Muslim)

31.. "Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him." (Bukhari)

32.. "Once the Prophet was asked:'Tell us, which action is dearest to Allah?' He answered:'To say your prayer at its proper time.' Again he was asked: 'What comes next?' Mohammed said: 'To show kindness to parents.' 'Then what?' he was asked, 'To strive for the cause of Allah!' " (Ibn Masad: Bukhari)

33.. "When two persons are together, two of them must no whisper to each other, without letting the third hear; because it would hurt him." (Bukhari & Muslim)

34.. "Verily, it is one of the respects to Allah to honor an old man." (Bukhari)

35.. "All Muslims are like a foundation, each strengthening the other; in such a way they do support each other." (Abu Musa: Bukhari & Muslim)

36.. "Strive always to excel in virtue and truth." (Bukhari)

37.. "You will not enter paradise until you have faith; and you will not complete your faith till you love one another." (Muslim)

38.. "He, who wishes to enter paradise at the best gate, must please his father and mother." (Bukhari & Muslim)

39.. "I am leaving two things among you, and if you cling to them firmly you will never go astray; one is the Book of Allah and the other is my way of life." (Farewell Pilgrimage: Muatta)

40.. "Allah is One and likes Unity." (Muslim)

41.. "The best of alms is that, which the right hand gives and the left hand knows not of." (Bukhari)

42.. "The perfect Muslim is not a perfect Muslim, who eats till he is full and leaves his neighbors hungry." (Ibn Abbas: Baihaqi)

43.. "He is not of us who is not affectionate to the little ones, and does not respect the old; and he is not of us, who does not order which is lawful, and prohibits that which is unlawful." (Ibn Abbas: Tirmidhi)

44.. "No man is a true believer unless he desires for his brother that, what he desires for himself." (Abu Hamza Anas: Bukhari & Muslim)

45.. "To strive for the cause of Allah from daybreak to noon and sunset is better than the goods and enjoyment of the whole worldly life." (Bukhari)

46.. "Be not like the hypocrite who, when he talks, tells lies; when he gives a promise, he breaks it; and when he is trusted, he proves dishonest." (Bukhari & Muslim)

47.. "The proof of a Muslim's sincerity is, that he pays no heed to that, which is not his business." (Abu Hureira: Tirmidhi)

48.. "Do you know what is better than charity and fasting and prayer? It is keeping peace and good relations between people, as quarrels and bad feelings destroy mankind." (Muslims & Bukhari)

49.. "Conduct yourself in this world, as if you are here to stay forever; prepare for eternity as if you have to die tomorrow." (Bukhari)

50.. "The worldly comforts are not for me. I am like a traveller, who takes a rest under a tree in the shade and then goes on his way." (Tirmidhi)

Getting Rid of the Need to Obtain Peoples Approval

2007-04-11T21:38:00.000-05:00

"O' disciple, strive to purify your heart both from the fear of people and from putting your hopes in them, for this would make you remain silent when faced with falsehood, compromise your religion, and neglect enjoining good and forbidding evil. This would be ample humiliation. A believer is strong by his Lord; he feels no fear nor hope except with regard to Him.

When one of your Muslim brothers offers you something by way of showing affection, take it if you need it, but thank God, for He is the real giver, and thank the one whom God has chosen to deliver it to you. If you do not need it, see whether it would be better for your heart to take it or refuse it. If you refuse, do it tactfully so as not to hurt the heart of the giver, for the feelings of a Muslim are of consequence to God.

Beware of refusing for the sake of acquiring a reputation, or of accepting for your appetites. However, to accept for your appetites is better than turning something down to acquire a reputation of asceticism and of turning away from the world. The truthful will not be confused, for his Lord gives him a light in his heart by which he knows what is required of him. "

-Imam Alawi al-Haddad

Hassan bin Thabit

2007-04-10T22:26:00.000-05:00

‘I could not praise Muhammad with my words;
rather,
my words were made praiseworthy by Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).’

-Hassan bin Thabit

Announcement

2007-04-10T21:46:00.000-05:00

Mehfil -e- Zikr & Khatam Khwajagan
will be held at My Home
This Thursday 04/12/07 at 7:45 pm inshallah

if you have any questions

in regards to directions please
contact me at
NaqshbandiNYC@Gmail.com

Take Everything Away

2007-04-08T14:04:00.000-05:00

Take everything away

and leave me alone with You.

Close every door

and open the one to You.

-Hakim Sana’i

Phenomenal Beings...

2007-04-05T22:37:00.000-05:00

"If the forms of phenomenal beings are embedded in the mirror of the heart, how can it be illuminated? If it is fettered by its appetites, how can it travel to Allah? If it is not purified of the great impurity of its heedlessness, how can it aspire to enter the presence of Allah? If it has not turned away in regret from its lapses, how can it hope to grasp the subtleties of secret knowledge? "

-Ibn Arabi

Weekly Gathering

2007-04-05T21:22:00.000-05:00

Announcement

The Weekly Mehfil -e- Zikr & Khatam Khwajagan

will be held at Br. Jahanzeb's Home

This Saturday 04/07/07 at 7:30 pm inshallah
if you have any questionsin regards to directions please

contact me at

NaqshbandiNYC@Gmail.com

The chamber of your heart

2007-04-02T23:23:00.000-05:00

Go sweep out the chamber of your heart.

Make it ready to be the dwelling place of the Beloved.

When you depart out,

He will enter it.

In you, void of yourself,

will He display His beauties.

-Shabistari

Do Not Think...

2007-03-28T20:59:00.000-05:00

Do not think you are veiled from Allah

by something that is not Allah.

There is nothing besides Allah.

You are veiled from Him by the

Illusion that there is something other than Allah.

- Ibn Ata‘ Allah

Have Mercy...

2007-03-26T20:35:00.000-05:00

Have mercy, just one glance, take the veil off your face:On your cheeks, the gleam of the full moon left its trace.

Your chastity is pure as cracked wheat and chickpeas,Your forehead, your crescent brows teach the young moon grace

Which one of your beauties should the tongue talk about? God, keep them off the evil eye in a safe place.

I couldn't tell your height apart from a cypress, I was in doubt--the rings on your ears made me guess.

Yunus saw God manifest Himself on your face; You can't be separated, you reveal His Grace.

-Yunus Emre

When My Beloved Appears

2007-03-24T13:27:00.000-05:00

When my Beloved appears,

With what eye do I see Him?

With His eye, not with mine,

For none sees Him except Himself.

-Ibn Arabi

Ya Rasulallah (pbuh)

2007-03-23T22:42:00.000-05:00

Eid Milad -un- Nabi 2007

2007-03-23T18:53:00.000-05:00

Gain Huge Rewards in Seconds

2007-03-18T18:27:00.000-05:00

It Starts With Your Love

2007-03-14T16:51:00.000-05:00

With your love let the lovers burn, O Rasulullah

May they drink the wine of love and be satisfied, O Rasulullah
For those who love you, intercede for them For those believing bodies you are Life,O Rasulullah
That one who loves you gives up his head for you The sun of both worlds is you, O Rasulullah
The Exalted One loved you, made you king of the world May my heart be sacrificed for you,

O Rasulullah
I am in love with the Thief of Hearts and infatuated with the rose bud Those who do not love you, may they burn,

O Rasulullah
In the heart of Dervish Yunus is knowledge of intercession The king of the worlds is you,

O Rasulullah

-Yunus Emre

In the Dead of Night

2007-03-11T20:36:00.000-05:00

In the dead of night, a Sufi began to weep.

He said, "This world is like a closed coffin, in which

We are shut and in which, through our ignorance,

We spend our lives in folly and desolation.

When Death comes to open the lid of the coffin,

Each one who has wings will fly off to Eternity,

But those without will remain locked in the coffin.

So, my friends, before the lid of this coffin is taken off,

Do all you can to become a bird of the Way to God;

Do all you can to develop your wings and your feathers."

-Fariduddin Attar

Divine Saying

2007-03-11T11:26:00.000-05:00

“O My servants, I have forbidden injustice to Myself and I have made it forbidden amongst you. So be not unjust to one another."

“O My servants, all of you go astray except the one whom I guide. Ask guidance of Me, and I shall guide you."

”O My servants, all of you go hungry except the one whom I feed. Ask Me for food, and I shall feed you."

”O My servants, all of you go naked except the one whom I clothe. Ask Me for clothing, and I shall clothe you."

”O My servants, you transgress by day and night, but I forgive all misdeeds. Ask forgiveness of Me, and I shall forgive you."

”O My servants, harming Me is beyond you, so you cannot harm Me; and benefiting Me is beyond you, so you cannot benefit Me."

”O My servants, if all of you — first and last, man and jinn — were like the one among you with the most devout heart, that would add nothing to My kingdom."

”O My servants, if all of you — first and last, man and jinn — were like the one among you with the most ungodly heart, that would take nothing away from My kingdom."

”O My servants, if all of you — first and last, man and jinn — were to stand on the same level and address Me with your requests, and if I were to give each one what he had requested, that would not diminish what is with Me, any more than a needle diminishes the sea when it enters it."

”O My servants, it is solely your deeds that I take account of, and it is by virtue of them that I will repay you. So let him who finds good, praise God, and let him who finds other than that, hold none but himself to blame.”

-Shaykh al-Akbar Muhyiddin ibn Arabi

Mishkat al-Anwar

The Sufi

2007-03-08T08:07:00.000-05:00

"The sufi is not the one who is always carrying the prayer rug, nor the one who is wearing patched clothes, nor the one who keeps certain customs and appearances; but the sufi is the one to whom everyone's focus is drawn, although he is hiding himself.
The sufi is the one who in the daylight doesn't need the sun and in the night doesn't need the moon. The essence of sufism is absolute nonexistence that has no need of existence because there is no existence besides Allah's existence."

Abul Hassan Ali ibn Jafar Al Kharqani,
the great Naqshbandi sheikh,
may Allah sanctify his soul & bless his secret

Love of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace & Blessings Of Allah Be Upon Him)

2007-03-07T20:56:00.000-05:00

The Blessed Prophets (Peace & Blessings Be Upon Him) Physical Attributes

2007-03-04T16:10:00.000-05:00

There is absolutely no way to conceal the fact that the Prophet is the worthiest of all mankind, the greatest of them in position and most perfect of them in good qualities and virtue. I am setting out to detail his qualities of perfection in the best way I can, which has filled me with longing to call attention to some of his attributes, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Know, may Allah illuminate my heart and yours and increase my love and your love for this noble Prophet! - that if you were to look into all those qualities of perfection which cannot be acquired and which are part of one's constitution, you will find that the Prophet has every one of them - all of the various good qualities without there being any dispute about it among the transmitters of the traditions.

The beauty of his form and the perfect proportion of his limbs are related in numerous sound and famous traditions from 'Ali, Anas ibn Malik, Abu Hurayra, Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, 'A'isha, Ibn Abi Hala, Abu Juhayfa, Jabir ibn Samura, Umm Ma'bad, Ibn 'Abbas, Mu'arrid ibn Mu'ayqib, Abu't-Tufayl, Al-'Ida' ibn Khalid, Khuraym ibn Fatik, Hakim ibn Hizam and others.

He had the most radiant colouring, deep black eyes which were wide set and had a sort of red tint to them, long eyelashes, a bright complexion, an aquiline nose, and a gap between his fronth teeth. His face was round with a wide brow and he had a thick beard which reached his chest. His chest and abdomen were of equal size. He was broad-chested with broad shoulders. He had large bones, large arms, thick palms and soles, long fingers, fair skin and fine hair from the chest to the navel. He was neither tall nor short, but between the two. In spite of that, no tall person who walked with the Prophet seemed taller than him. His hair was neither curly nor straight. When he laughed and his teeth showed, it was like a flash of lighting or they seemed as white as hailstones. When he spoke, it was like light issuing from between his teeth. He had a well-formed neck, neither broad nor fat. He had a compact body which was not fleshy.

Al-Bara' said, "I did not see anyone with a more beautiful lock of hair resting on a red robe than the Messenger of Allah."

Abu Hurayra said, "I have not seen anything more beautiful than the Messenger of Allah. It was as if the sun was shining in his face. When he laughed, it reflected on the wall."

Jabir ibn Samura was asked, ''Was his face like a sword?" He replied, "No, it was like the sun and the moon. It was round." (In al-Bukhari and Muslim and elsewhere)

In her description, Umm Ma'bad said, "From afar, he was the most beautiful of people, and close up he was the most handsome." (Al-Bayhaqi)

Ibn Abi Hala said, "His face shone like the full moon."

At the end of his description, 'Ali said, "Anyone who saw him suddenly was filled with awe of him. Those who kept his company loved him."

All who described him said they had not see anyone like him either before or since.

-Ash-Shifa Of Qadi 'Iyad

Views of some scholars about Sufism

2007-03-03T22:21:00.000-05:00

Imam Abu Hanifa (85 H. - 150 H) "If it were not for two years, I would have perished." He said, "for two years I accompanied Sayyidina Ja'far as-Sadiq and I acquired the spiritual knowledge that made me a gnostic in the Way." [Ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, vol 1. p. 43]

Imam Malik (95 H. - 179 H.) "whoever studies Jurisprudence (tafaqaha) and didn't study Sufism [tasawwafa] will be corrupted; and whoever studied Sufism and didn't study Jurisprudence will become a heretic; and whoever combined both will be reach the Truth." [the scholar'Ali al-Adawi , vol. 2, p 195.)

Imam Shafi'i (150 - 205 AH.) "I accompanied the Sufi people and I received from them three knowledges: ... how to speak; .. how to treat people withleniency and a soft heart... and they... guided me in the ways of Sufism." [Kashf al-Khafa, 'Ajluni, vol. 1, p 341.]

Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (164 - 241 AH.) "O my son, you have to sit with the People of Sufism, because they are like a fountain of knowledge and they keep the Remembrance of Allah in their hearts. they are the ascetics and they have the most spiritual power." [Tanwir al-Qulub p. 405]

Imam Nawawi (620 - 676 AH.) "The specifications of the Way of the Sufis are ... to keep the Presence of Allah in your heart in public and in private; to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) ... to be happy with what Allah gave you..."[in his Letters, (Maqasid at-tawhid), p. 201]

Ibn Khaldun (733 - 808 AH.) "The way of the Sufis is the way of the Salaf, the preceding Scholars between the Sahaba and Tabi'een of those who followed good guidance..." [Muqaddimat ibn al-Khaldun, p. 328]

Tajuddin as-Subki (727 - 771 AH.) "May Allah praise them [the Sufis] and greet them and may Allah cause us to be with them in Paradise. Too many things havebeen said about them and too many ignorant people have said things which are not related to them. And the truth is that those people left the world and were busy with worship. ... They are the People of Allah, whose supplications and player Allah accepts and by means of whom Allah supports human beings" [Mu'eed an-Na'am p. 190, the chapter entitled Tasawwufl

Jalaluddin as-Suyuti (849 - 911 AH.) "At-Tasawwuf in itself is the best and most honorable knowledge. It explains how to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and to put aside innovation." [Ta'yid al-Haqiqat al-'Aiiyya,p 57]

lbn Qayyim (691 - 751 AH.) "We can witness the greatness of the People of Sufism, in the eyes of the earliest generations of Muslims by what has been mentioned by Sufyan ath-Thawri (d. 161 AH), one of the greatest imams of the second century and one of the foremost legal scholars. He said, "If it had not been for Abu Hisham as-Sufi (d. 115) 1 would never have perceived the action of the subtlest forms of hypocrisy in the self... Among the best of people is the Sufi learned in jurisprudence." [Manazil as-Sa'ireen.]

Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (1115 - 1201 AH.) "My father Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and I do not deny or criticize the science of Sufism, but on the contrary we support it, because it purifies the external and the internal of the hidden sins, which are related to the heart and to the outward form. Even though the individual might externally be on the right way, internally he might be on the wrong way. Sufism is necessary to correct it." [ad-Dia'at mukathaffa did ash-Shaykh Ibn Abdul Wahhab,p.85 ]

Ibn 'Abidin (1198 - 1252 AH.) "the Seekers in this Sufi Way don't hear except from the Divine Presence and they don't love any but Him. If they remember Him they cry, and if they thank Him they are happy; ... May Allah bless them." [Risa'il Ibn'Abidin p. 172 & 173]

Muhammad 'Abduh (1265 - 1323 AH.) "Tasawwuf appeared in the first century of Islam and it received a tremendous honor. It purified the self and straightened the conduct and gave knowledge to people from the Wisdom and Secrets of the Divine Presence." (Majallat al-Muslim, 6th ed. 1378 H, p. 24].

Abul Hasan 'Ali an-Nadawi (1331 AH b.) "These Sufis were initiating people on Oneness and sincerity in following the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and to repent from theirsins and to be away from every disobedience of Allah 'Azza wa Jail. Their guides were encouraging them to move in the way of perfect Love to Allah 'Azza wa Jail. "...In Calcutta India, everyday more than 1000 people were taking initiation into Sufism. "...by the influence of these Sufi people, thousands and thousands and hundreds of thousands in India found their Lord and reached a state of Perfection through the Islamic religion."[Muslit-ns in India, p. 140-146]

Be Content with the Opposites of your Desires

2007-03-03T14:26:00.000-05:00

Things are hidden in their opposites without a doubt. Finding in loss, giving in withholding, might in abasement, wealth in poverty, strength in weakness, expansion in constriction, elevation in descent, life in death, victory in defeat, power in incapacity, and so on. Whoever wants to find should be content with loss. Whoever wants a gift should be content with refusal. Whoever wants might should be content with abasement. Whoever wants strength should be content with weakness. Whoever wants expansion should be content with constriction. Whoever wants elevation should be content with descent. Whoever wants life should be content with death. Whoever wants victory should be content with defeat. Whoever wants power should be content with incapacity. In brief, whoever desires freedom should be content with slaveness as his Prophet, beloved, and master, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was content with it. Let him choose it as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, chose it. He should not be arrogant or proud and exceed his attributes, for the slave is the slave and the Lord is the Lord. They Shaykh Ibn 'Ata'Illah, may Allah be pleased with him, said in his Hikam, "He forbids you from claiming anything that is not yours from that which creatures possess. Then how can it be permitted for you to claim His attributes when He is the Lord of the worlds?" The people, may Allah be pleased with them, say, "This Path of ours is only useful for people who sweep the rubbish heaps with their spirits."

-The Darqawi Way; The Letters of Shaykh Mawlay al-'Arabi ad-Darqawi

Speech By Hazrat Imamul Arifin Pir Aftab Ahmad Qasmi

2007-02-27T19:05:00.000-05:00

Hazrat Pir Aftab Sahib was the eldest son of Hazrat Pir Khan Sahib.

He spent 35 years of his life in travel propagating the sufi message of Mohra Sharif. He was very strict on the rules of Silsila-e-Naqshbandia. He maintained the order according to the founding forefathers. He propagated the Khatm-e-Khwajgan and Zikr of Allah. He was very well known among sufi orders in Europe. Hazrat Peer Aftab Sahib converted many non Muslims to Islam by his spiritual power given by Allah. He was the first sufi from Pakistan to introduce Sufism in Denmark. In 1972 Hazrat Sahib accompanied by Makhdoom-e-Tariqat Hazrat Pir Aurangzeb Badshah was the first sufi in many years to have recited the Azan and performed Salat ul Zuhr and also the recitation of Zikr in the famous Qurtaba Masjid in Spain with a group of 50 followers. During his tours Hazrat Sahib attracted many different type of people both rich and poor, even the royal family of Libya were followers of Hazrat Sahib.

Hazrat Pir Aftab Sahib was a true Ashiq (lover) of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (PBUH). Hazrat Pir Aftab’s life and his speeches and his preachings can be summarized in a few words which are “He always stated that you should fear your lord to an to such a point that when you pray in your mind it is Him who is standing in front of you and it is Him you are bowing to and you should love the prophet to such an extent that nothing in the world matters but the Rasool (PBUH)”. Wherever he went he preached the Zikr and Ishq for the Rasool (PBUH). That was his mission and wherever he went he definitely left his mark.

Hazrat Pir Aftab Sahib left this mortal world in the year of 1992 on the 24th of May. He was buried in Mohra Shareef. The light that was shining from his face on the day of funeral was a sign for all of us that the Ashiq of Muhammad (PBUH) will never leave this world without being recognized. Hazrat Pir Auliya Badshah stated at the funeral that the Imam Ghazali of our times have passed away from this mortal world.

Supplication for Forgiveness

2007-02-25T12:24:00.000-05:00

In the Name of God I begin, with all my respect,And all praise belongs to God, for my strength and maturity.

I seek the forgiveness of God, our Lord and Creator,For all mankind and for the evils of my [soul’s] turmoil.

I seek the forgiveness of God, motivator of the heavenly spheres in the darkness, For our failure to thank Him enough for His bounty.

I seek the forgiveness of God, the Savior of one who seeks His aid,Whenever he suffers misfortune or calamity.

I seek the forgiveness of God, Forgiver of the sins of one Who comes to Him broken, humiliated, and full of remorse.

I seek the forgiveness of God, Concealer of the faults of The morally deficient, and their Savior from adversity.

I seek the forgiveness of God for my secret thoughts and overt acts,For the fickleness of my heart and for the smile upon my lips.

I seek the forgiveness of God for my speech and my behavior,For my evil character, type, and nature.

I seek the forgiveness of God for my words and deeds,For my vain strivings, and the exhaustion of my abilities.

I seek the forgiveness of God for my ignorance and transgressions,For the greatest of my conscious sins, and the minor ones I have committed.

I seek the forgiveness of God for what my hand has wrought,For my errors and [the sins] toward which I was inclined.

I seek the forgiveness of God for that which my hand did not earn,And for that which I earned upon attaining adulthood.

I seek the forgiveness of God for saying ‘I’ and ‘with me’,[For saying] ‘belonging to me’ and ‘mine’, and for my suspicions and my [limited] understanding.

I seek the forgiveness of God for that which I did not know,For that which I knew, and for that which I wrote by pen.

I seek the forgiveness of God for my sleep, my lethargy,And my wakefulness, and for that which has maintained me [in life].

I seek the forgiveness of God during the day, its night,And, its morrow, before it is created from nothingness.

I seek the forgiveness of God for that which occurred during my youth,And for my disagreements with the aged and mature.

I seek the forgiveness of God, as often as I have feared what He has bestowed,And [as often as] the clouds have rained on the plains and hills.

I seek the forgiveness of God, as often as the number of pilgrims, goingToward lands characterized by purity and sanctity.

I seek the forgiveness of God, as often as the breaking of dawn, and as oftenAs the doves coo their songs in the branches.

I seek the forgiveness of God, as often as the number of letters [in the Qur’an] and multiplicity ofQur’anic verses and aphorisms recited during invocation.

I seek the forgiveness of God, as often as the number of riding animals,Worlds beyond the horizons, and landmarks in the earth.

I seek the forgiveness of God, as often as the number of plants andSheep on the land and [the amount of] bounty in the sea.

I seek the forgiveness of God, as often as the number of heavenly bodiesEncompassed by knowledge, and for everything that is apparent and hidden.

I seek the forgiveness of God, as often as the number of [grains of] sand,And the [amount of] rain that falls continuously on the earth.

I seek the forgiveness of God, as often as the number of created things—Of human beings and jinn, or Arabs and non-Arabs.

I seek the forgiveness of God, as often as the number of thoughts inThe breasts of those endowed with trust, authority, and wisdom.

I seek the forgiveness of God—all majesty be to God, our Creator,Creator of mankind and the One who brought us forth from nothingness.

I seek the forgiveness of God—all majesty be to God, Who provided for usPrior to physical existence, and Who apportions all the shares [of worldly destiny].

I seek the forgiveness of God, Whose bounties are without number,The All-Encompassing, the Most Excellent, [the One] noted for generosity.

I seek the forgiveness of God—all majesty be to God, Who gathers us in [at death],The annihilator of centuries, and annihilator of all nations.

I seek the forgiveness of God—all majesty be to God, Who resurrects usAfter death, and Who gives life to decaying bones.

I seek the forgiveness of God, innumerable times,As often as the number of known species and breaths of life.

I seek the forgiveness of God—on Him be praises without number,[For] He causes Himself to be praised pre-eternally.

I seek the forgiveness of God, the Forgiver of sins Who, wheneverThe slave disobeys, forgives him with indulgence and generosity.

So forgive me the greatest of my transgressions, and[On] the Day of Judgment, when my feet are about to stumble.

Then may blessings be on the Chosen One from Mudhar,The Best of Mankind, among those who weep or smile.

And may his family and companions be preserved

By our Lord, along with all of [their] followers.

-Shaykh Abu Madyan

The Sufi

2007-02-25T11:59:00.000-05:00

“The Sufi is one whose heart is pure (safa), free from attachment to his physical existence (wujud). His heart is an ambassador between him and his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). He cannot be a Sufi until he sees his Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in his dreams, educating him, telling him what to do and what not to do. His heart will make progress and his innermost being (sirr) will be purified (yasfu) at the door of the King, while his hand is in the hand of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).”

-Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani

Futuh al-Ghayb

A Parable

2007-02-25T11:56:00.000-05:00

A person who is concerned for himself is like a servant whose master has dispatched him on a mission. The master has sent him to some land that the master owns in order to procure some cloth there for him. When the servant arrives in that place, he begins to say to himself, “Where will I reside? Whom will I marry?” He gets preoccupied with these questions, expending all his energy on anxiety about these concerns, until he is delinquent in executing the commands for which his master had sent him. When his master calls on him, his reward from the master will be that the master cuts him off and separates himself from the servant, since he was totally preoccupied by his own affairs rather than observing the prerogatives and rights of his master.

So it is with you, my fellow believer. The True One has dispatched you to this world and commanded you to serve in it faithfully, and has undertaken to support and sustain your existence contingent on your service. If you become engrossed in worrying about your own concerns for yourself and neglect the rights held over you by your master, then you have turned aside from the path of right guidance and slid down the low road to ruin.

-Imam Ibn ‘Ata’Allah al-Iskandari

On Opposing the Ego (Mukhalafat al-nafs) and Remembering One's Faults (Dhikr uyubiha)

2007-02-25T11:03:00.000-05:00

God Most High has said, "As for him who fears to stand before his Lord and restrains the ego [animal soul] its desires, the garden is shelter" (79:40)

Ali bin Ahmad bin Abdan informed us through Jabir that the Messenger of God said, "The worst of what I fear for my community is the pursuit of passion and ambition for the future, for the passions leads away from the truth, while ambition makes one forget the next world." So know that opposing the ego (nafs ammarah, the animal soul, the passions throughout the chapter) is the beginning of worship.

The shaykhs, asked about submission to God - Islam - have said that it means to slaughter the ego with the swords of opposition to it. You should know that when the disasters of the ego rise in a person, the glories of intimacy with God set.

Dhu-l-Nun al-Misri said, "The key to worship is reflection. The sign of attaining the mark is to oppose the ego and its desires. To oppose the ego is to abandon what it craves." Ibn Ata said, "The ego is disposed to bad conduct while the servant is commanded to observe the rule of behavior, so the ego falls by its nature into the arena of things to be actively resisted, and the servant with effort can turn it back from the evil of its wishes. He who gives it free rein is partner to its corruption."

I heard Abu Abd al-Rahmah al-Sulami say Junayd said, "The ego [animal soul] summons to dangers, assists enemies, pursues whims, and is to be suspected of every sort of wickedness." Abu Hafs said, "Whoever does not suspect his ego at every moment, oppose it in all circumstances, and drag it toward what it hates for all his days, has been fooled. Whoever looks at it expecting any good from it has caused his ruins."

How can an intelligent person be satisfied with himself while the noble, son of the noble, son of the noble, son of the noble - Joseph the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham the Friend of God - says, "I do not absolve myself, for the ego [animal soul] commands to wrongdoing" (12:53)!

I heard Muhammad bin al-Husayn say that Junayd said, "One night I could not sleep. I got up to make my private devotions but was unable to find the sweetness and delight I usually find in conversations with my Lord. I was troubled and amazed. I wanted to sleep but was not able. I sat but could not endure the sitting. So I opened the door and went outside. There in the street lay a man wrapped in a cloak. When he felt my presence he raised his head and said, 'O Abu-l-Qasim, finally!' 'Sir,' I said, 'no appointment was made.' 'Rather I asked the Mover of the Hearts to move your heart towards me,' he replied. 'He has done that,' I told him. 'What is your need?' 'When does the disease of the ego [animal soul] become its cure?' he asked. 'When the ego [animal soul] opposes its desire, its disease becomes its cure,' I answered. Directing himself to his ego, he said, 'Listen! I have given you this answer seven times and you refused to hear it except from Junayd. So now you have heard it!' He turned away from me. I did not know him, and I have never come across him again."

Abu Bakr al-Tamastani said, "The greatest blessing is to escape from the ego, because the ego is the greatest veil between you and God Almighty and Glorious." Sahl ibn Abd Allah said, "There is no way to worship God equal to opposing the ego and its caprice."

I heard Muhammad bin al-Husayn say that Ibn Ata was asked what thing most quickly brings on God's wrath. He said, "Looking upon the ego and its states, the worst of which is the expectation of compensation for its acts." And I heard him say that Ibrahim al-Khawwas said, "I was on the mountain of al-Lukam [in Damascus] when I saw some pomegranates and wanted them. I came up, took one, and broke it open, but finding it sour I went away and left them. Then I saw a man lying on the ground. He was covered with hornets. 'Peace be upon you,' I greeted him. 'And upon you be peace, Ibrahim!' he replied. 'How do you know me?' I asked. 'Nothing is hidden from one who knows God Most High,' said he. 'I see that your state is with God Most High,' I said. 'If only you would ask Him to shelter and protect you from the torment of those hornets!' 'And I see that your state is with God Most High.' He returned. 'If only you would ask him to protect you from the desire for pomegranates! For a man but finds the pain of the sting of hornets in this world, while he finds the pain of the sting of pomegranates in the next!' So I left him and went away."

It is told that Ibrahim bin Shayban said, "I did not sleep under my own roof or in any place that had a lock upon it for forty years. Many times I desired to eat a meal of lentils, but it did not come about. Then one time in Damascus, an earthen vessel full of lentils was presented to me. I ate out of it and was leaving when I saw glasses to which were clinging what seemed to be drops of liquid. I had thought the vessel clean, but somebody said to me, 'What are you looking at? Those are wine dregs, and that jug is a wine jug!' 'I must carry out a duty.' I said to myself. So I went into the wineseller's shop and kept pouring out that jug. He supposed I was emptying it by order of the Sultan. When he knew that it was not so, he dragged me to the judge Ibn Tulun who ordered that I be flogged with 200 lashes and thrown me into prison. There I stayed for awhile, until my teacher, Abu Abd Allah al-Maghribi, came to that city. He interceded for me. When his eyes fell upon me, he asked me 'What have you done?' 'A meal of lentils and two hundred lashes,' I said. 'You have been protected by shields against the true punishment,' he told me."
I heard Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami say that Sari al-Saqati said, "My ego has been pleading with me for thirty or forty years to dip a carrot into date syrup, and I have not fed it!" And I heard him say that he heard my grandfather say, "The bane of the servant is his satisfaction with himself as he is." I also heard him say that Husayn bin Ali al-Qirmisini said, "I am ibn Yusuf, the Amir of Balkh, who sent a gift to Hatim al-Asamm, who received it from him." Asked why he did so, he said, "In accepting it I found humiliation for me and honor for him, while in returning it was honor for me and humiliation for him, so I chose his honor over mine and my humiliation over his."

Someone told a Sufi, "I want to go on the pilgrimage free of material support." He answered, "First free your heart from distraction, your ego from frivolity, and your tongue form nonsense - then travel however you wish!"

Abu Sulayman al-Darani said, "Whoever does good at night is rewarded during the day and whoever does good during the day is rewarded at night. Whoever is sincere in abandoning a desire is saved from catering to it. God is too noble to punish a heart that has abandoned a desire for His sake."

God, glory to Him, revealed to David, "O David, beware! Warn your companions about devouring the objects of desire. When people's hearts are tied to the desires of this world, their intelligence is veiled from Me."

A man was seen seated in mid-air. Someone asked him, "Why were you granted this?" "I gave up idle desire (hawa)," he said, "and the air (hawa; a play on words because hawa means both) became subject to me."

It is said that if a thousand desires were presented to a believer he would drive them away through fear of God, while if a single desire were presented to a libertine, it would drive fear of God away from him. It is said, "Do not give your bridle into the hand of caprice, for it will lead you into darkness."

Yusuf bin Asbat said, "Nothing will extinguish desires from the heart except an unsettling fear or a troubled yearning." Al-Khawwas said, "Whoever gives up a desire and does not find the recompense for it in his heart is lying about having given it up."

Jafar bin Nisar said, "Junayd gave me a dirham and said, 'Go and buy me Waziri figs.' I bought them, and when he broke fast he took one and put it in his mouth. Then he spit it out, wept, and said, 'Take them away!' I asked him about this. He said, 'A voice spoke in my heart saying, "Aren't you ashamed? A desire you gave up for My sake - now you are returning to it!"'"

They recite:

The last letter of disgrace has been stolen from desire.

The victim of every desire is a victim of disgrace.
Know that the ego possesses contemptible characteristics, and one of them is envy.

-Imam Abu-l-Qasim al-Qushayri

Risalah Qushayriyyah (Principles of Sufism)

Demolish this house

2007-02-24T00:39:00.000-05:00

Demolish this house,
for a thousand houses
may be made from this carnelian.
A treasure lies beneath the house,
So don’t stand still,
for there is no other way.
Don’t be afraid of destroying the house,
because with its treasure in your hand
you can builda thousand houses without toil and pain.
In the end this house will fall into ruin,
and the treasure beneath it will be revealed;
But it won’t be yours,
since your soul receives that divine gift
as wages for destroying the house.
If it hasn’t done the hard work,
it earns nothing:
There is nothing for the human being hereafter
but recompense for that which she has wrought here.

-Rumi
Mathnawi IV

Ibn Arabi on this world

2007-02-23T06:35:00.000-05:00

Indeed the whole world is imagination.

Only He is the real in Reality.

Whoever understands this

knows the secrets of the spiritual path.

-Ibn Arabi

Chechen Sufi's

2007-02-22T20:47:00.000-05:00

There is a candle in your heart...

2007-02-22T20:44:00.000-05:00

Dua by Dr. Pir Fazeel Ayaz Qasmi

2007-02-22T18:06:00.000-05:00

Creation Of The Nafs

2007-02-18T12:02:00.000-05:00

The scriptures of old report that when Allah created the intellect, He said, "O intellect go back," and it went back. (Then He said.) "O intellect come forward," and it came forward. (He then said,) "O intellect who am I," and it said, "You are Allah, the Lord of the universes."
Similarly, when He created the nafs, He said, "O nafs come forth," yet it went back. Then He said "O nafs go back," and it came forward. "O Nafs who am I?" and it said, "You are you and I am I." Thus Allah imposed hunger upon it and weakness crept into it until it became subdued and obedient. He then said, "O nafs go back," and it went back, and "O nafs come forward," and it came forward. He said, "O nafs who am I?" and it said, "You are Allah, the lord of all the universes."
Thus weakening the desires of the nafs proved of great importance in the realm of seeking nearness to Allah

-Habib 'Ali Zain Al 'Abideen Al Jifri

Ma'alim as-Suluk (Wayfarers to God)

Ya Muhammad (Peace & Blessing Be Upon Him)

2007-02-17T17:06:00.000-05:00

Salawat - Nasheed

2007-02-16T17:54:00.000-05:00

God is Most Great

2007-02-16T07:29:00.000-05:00

Your Saying “God is Most Great” does not mean that He is greater than something else, since there is nothing else alongside of Him, so that it could be said that He is greater than it… Rather, the meaning of Allahu Akbar is that He is much too great to be perceived by the senses or for the depths of His Majesty to be reached by reason and logic, and indeed, that He is much too great to be known by an other-than-Him for truly, no one knows God but God.

-Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah

On The Excellence Of Learning

2007-02-14T20:18:00.000-05:00

The excellence of learning is attested in the Qur’an by the following words of Allah: “And if a party of every band of them march not out. it is that they may instruct themselves in their religion;” (9:123) and again. “Ask of those who have Books of Monition if ye know it not.” (16:45)

[As to the evidence of the excellence of learning] in tradition, the Prophet of Allah said. “Whoever follows a path in search of knowledge. Allah will guide him into a path leading into Paradise.”[1]And again. “Verily the angels will bow low to the seeker after knowledge in approval of what he does.”[2] He also said, “To rise up before daybreak and learn but a section of knowledge is better than prostrating yourself in prayer a hundred times.”[3] The Apostle again said. “One section of knowledge which a man learns is better for him than all the riches of the world.” And again. “Seeking after knowledge is an ordinance obligatory upon every Muslim.”[4] He also said, “Seek ye knowledge even [as far as] China.” The Prophet further said. “Knowledge is like sealed treasure houses, the keys of which arc inquiry. Inquire. therefore, for therein lies reward for four: the inquirer, the learned, the auditor, and their admirer.” He also said, “The ignorant one should not hide his ignorance nor the learned his knowledge.” And in a tradition on the authority of abu Dharr,[5] “To be present in the circle of a learned man is better than prostrating oneself in payer a thousand times. or visiting a thousand sick men. or joining a thousand funerals.” It was then said.. “O Apostle of Allah, is it also better than the reading of the Qur’an?” To which he replied, “What good. though. is the Qur’an except through knowledge?” The Prophet also said. “Whoever is overtaken by death while seeking knowledge wherewith to strengthen Islam. between him and the prophets in Paradise is but one grade.”

[As to the evidence of the excellence of learning] in the sayings of the Companions, ibn-Abbas said, “While I sought knowledge, I was abased, but when I was sought for it, I was exalted.” Similarly, ibn-abi -Mulaykah[6] said, “Never have I seen the like of ibn `Abbas: to behold him is to behold the most handsome man; when he speaks, he is the most eloquent, and when he hands down a judicial opinion, he [reveals himself] as the most learned.” Ibn-al-Mubarak said, I wonder how one who sought no knowledge could be moved to any noble deed;” while one of the wise men said, “Verily I pity no one as I pity the man who seeks knowledge but understands not, and him who understands and seek it not.” Abu-al-Darda’[7] said, “I would rather learn one point than spend my night in continual prayer;” and again, “The learned and the learner are partners in righteousness while the rest of men are barbarians in whom there is no good.” He :also said, “Be learned, or a learner, or an auditor but never anything else lest thou perish.” ‘Ata’[8] said “[Attendance at] an assembly of learning[9] atones [the evil of attending] seventy places of entertainment.” “Umar[10] said, “The death of a thousand worshippers who spend their days in fasting and their nights in continual prayer is a lesser calamity than the passing away of one learned man who is aware of what is lawful before Allah and what is unlawful. “Al-Shafi’i said, “Seeking knowledge is better than supererogatory works.” Ibn-‘Abd-al-Hakam[11] said, “I was [once] at Malik’s[12] place studying at his feet when the hour of noon arrived. Thereupon I closed my books and put them away in order to pray; but he said, `What you have risen to perform is not better than what you were doing provided your intentions are good.” Abu-al-Darda’ also said, “Whoever should regard that rising early for study is not jihad [reveals himself] deficient in reasoning and intellect.”

- Iman Al Ghazali

Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

Kitab al-ilm

[1] Muslim. al-Dhikr-w-al-Du’a’. 11: Ibn-Majah. Intro., 17: 4.
[2] Ibn-Majah, Intro.. 17:4.
[3] Cf. Ibn-Majah, Intro., 16:9.
[4] See supra, p. 3. [Ibn-Majah, Sunan al-Mustafa, Intro., 17:5, al-Baghawi, Masabih al-Sunnah, (Cairo, 1318), Vol. I, p. 15. ed.]
[5] Al-Ghifari. Jundub ibn-Junadah. d. A.H. 32/A.D. 652-3 See al-Nawawi. Tahdhib al-Asma’ ed F. Wüstenfeld (Gottingen. 1842-7). pp. 714-15
[6] A.H. 117/A.D. 735; Tadhkirat al-Huffaz, Vol I, pp. 95-6.
[7] ‘Uwaymir ibn-Zayd (A.H. 32/A.D. 652-3) See ibn-Sa’d, Vol. VII, Pt. 2,
pp. 117-18.
[8] Ibn-abi-Rabah (A.H. 115/A.D. 733). See ibn-Qutaybah, p. 227; ibn-
Khallikan, I, Vol. pp. 571-3.
[9] “Dhkir” in B.
[10] The second Rashidite Caliph.
[11] Abu Muhammad ‘Abdullah (A.H. 314/A.D. 829), father of the famous
historian of Egypt; see ibn-Khallikan, Vol. 1, pp. 444-5.
[12] Ibn-Anas (A.H.179/A.D.795). See al-Fihrist, pp.198-9; ibn-Khallikan,
Vol. II, p. 200.

Woman

2007-02-14T06:50:00.000-05:00

The Prophet said that women hold dominion over sages and over men of heart,

but that fools, again, hold the upper hand over women, because fools are violent and exceedingly froward. They have no tenderness or gentleness or amity, because the animal nature sways their temperament. Love and tenderness are qualities of humanity, passion and lust are qualities of animality. Woman is a ray of God, not a mere mistress, the Creator's self, as it were, not a mere creature!

- Rumi

If You Could...

2007-02-13T22:23:00.000-05:00

If you could get rid
of yourself just once,
The secret of secrets
Would open to you.
The face of the unknown,
Hidden beyond the universe
Would appear
on theMirror of your perception.

-Rumi-

Spiritual Ecstasy

2007-02-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

The Prophet, may Allah grant blessings and peace upon him, says, 'The one who has not experienced ecstasy and thereby received the manifestation of divine wisdom and truth has not lived'.

Hadrat Junayd, may Allah be pleased with him, said, 'When ecstasy meets the divine manifestations inside one, one is either in a state of the highest joy or the deepest sorrow'.

There are two kinds of ecstasy: physical ecstasy and spiritual ecstasy. Physical ecstasy is a product of the ego. It does not give one any spiritual satisfaction. It is under the influence of the senses. Often it is hypocritical, occurring so that others see or hear about it. This kind of ecstasy is totally devoid of value because it is purposeful, it is willed: the one who experiences it still thinks that he can do, that he can choose. It is not good to give any importance to such experiences.

Spiritual ecstasy, however, is a totally different state, a state caused by the overflow of spiritual energy. Ordinarily, exterior influences—such as a beautifully recited poem, or the Qur'an chanted by a beautiful voice, or the excitement brought on by the ceremony of remembrance of the Sufis—may cause this spiritual elevation. This happens because at such moments the physical resistance of the being is obliterated. The will, the ability of the mind to choose and to decide, is overcome. When the powers of both the body and the mind are undermined, the ecstatic state is purely spiritual. To go along with that kind of experience is beneficial to one.

The influences which incite spiritual ecstasy are described in the words of the Prophet, may Allah grant blessings and peace upon him, 'The verses of the Qur'an, the wise and wondrous poems of love and sounds and voices of yearning illuminate the face of the soul'.

The Prophet, may Allah grant blessings and peace upon him, says, 'The one who has not experienced ecstasy does not have the taste of his religion'.

There are ten states of ecstasy. Some of these are apparent and their signs visible, and some are hidden and unobservable by others, like the inner consciousness and remembrance of Allah, or a silent reading of the Holy Qur'an. To shed tears, to have deep feeling of regret, fear of Allah's punishment, longing and sorrow, shame for one's moments of unconsciousness; when one grows pale, or the face flushes with excitement from states within and from events around one, burning with the yearning for Allah—these and all physical and spiritual anomalies caused by such things are signs of ecstasy.

- Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani
Sirr al-Asrār (Secret of Secrets)

Anecdotes Of Junaid

2007-02-11T10:34:00.000-05:00

Once Junaid’s eye pained him, and he sent for the doctor.“If your eye is throbbing, do not let any water get to it,” the doctor advised.

When he had gone, Junaid performed his ablutions and prayed, and then went to sleep. When he awoke, his eye was well again. He heard a voice saying, “Junaid forsook his eye to gain Our good pleasure. If with the same intention he had begged of Us all the inhabitants of Hell, his petition would have been granted.”

The physician called and saw that his eye was healed.“What did you do?” he asked.“I performed the ablutions for prayer,” Junaid answered.

Thereupon the physician, who was a Christian, declared his conversion.

“This is the Creator’s cure, not the creature’s,” he commented. “It was my eye that was sick, not yours. You were the physician, not I.”

-Farid al-Din Attar
Tadhkirat al-Awliya'

"I'm contained by true hearts"

2007-02-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

The Prophet said that Allah has said,

"I cannot be contained in hallowed places.

Heaven and earth cannot hold Me.

But I am contained by true hearts.

If you seek Me, search in those hearts."

-Rumi

In the hour or grief...

2007-02-10T06:22:00.000-05:00

In the hour of grief you turn to Him;

when grief departs you transgress.

In adversity you moan entreating Him;

when ease returns you turn away.

Those who know Allah remain steady,

but those who doubt exult at times

and become despondent at others.

-Rumi

Liberate yourself

2007-02-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Liberate yourself from the fetters of the ego
and surrender yourself before God.
Let the Lord be your shepherd,
allow Him to attend to all your cares,
and do not allow temptations to entice you.
Aspirations of this world are the cause of all concern.
Aspire to God and obtain freedom.

-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani

In God's eyes

2007-02-09T22:26:00.000-05:00

I surrender myself to no other god but God.

If He desires my bloodshed,

then so be it! I have no fear.

I may be disgraced in your world;

before God honor will be mine.

A laughing stock in the eyes of the world,

in God's eyes cherished and acclaimed.

-Rumi

The Key to Success

2007-02-08T21:43:00.000-05:00

On Dhikr

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 becomes fire. 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 rustling in the wind.

This is because man is a combination of every noble and 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 of the 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 the realities 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.

- Ibn 'Ata'llah al-Iskandari

From Miftah al-Falah (The Key to Success)

The Chapter on Dhikr

2007-02-07T22:45:00.000-05:00

Encouragement to remember Allah often, secretly and openly, and to presevere in it; what is reported about someone who does not remember Allah often

1. Abu Huryara reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Allah Almighty says, 'I am in My slave's opinion of Me and I am with Him when He remembers Me. When he remembers Me in himself, I mention him in Myself. If he mentions Me in an assembly, I mention him in a better assembly than them.' If he comes near Me by a handspan, I come near him a cubit. If he comes near Me by a cubit, I come near a fathom. When he comes to walking, I come to him running."
(Muslim and al-Bukhari, Ahmad has at the end of it, Qatada said, "Allah is quicker to forgive.")

2. 'Abdullah ibn Busr reported a man said, "Messenger of Allah, the laws of Islam are too much for me. Tell me something I can cling to." He said, "Your tongue should remain moist with the remembrance of Allah." (at-Tirmidhi)

3. Abu'd-Darda' reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Shall I inform you of the best of your actions and the purest of your property and the highest of your degrees and what is better for you than spending gold and silver and better for you than encountering the enemy and striking their necks and their striking your necks?" They said, "Yes, indeed!" He said, "Remembrance of Allah Almighty." MuÔadh ibn Jabal said, "There is nothing which saves from the punishment of Allah more than remembrance of Allah." (Ahmad, Ibn Abi'd-Dunya, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)

4. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Do a lot of remembrance of Allah until they say, 'He is mad.'" (Ahmad, Abu Ya'la and Ibn Hibban)

5. Abu Musa reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "If one man has some dirhams in his possession which he divides and another remembers Allah, the one who remembers Allah is better." One variant has, "There is no sadaqa better than remembrance of Allah." (at-Tabarani)
6. Umm Anas reported that she said, "Messenger of Allah, command me." He said, "Avoid acts of disobedience: that is the best jihad. Do a lot of invoking Allah. You do not bring Allah anything he loves more than a lot of remembrance." (at-Tabarani. In one variant, "Remember Allah a lot. It is the action which Allah loves most to reveive." At-Tabarani notes that Umm Anas is not the mother of Anas ibn Malik.)

Encouraging attending gatherings of dhikr and meeting together to remember Allah

7. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Allah Almighty has angels who travel the highways and by-ways seeking out the people of dhikr. When they find people remembering Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, they call out to one another, 'Come to what you hunger for!' and they enfold them with their wings stretching up to the lowest heaven. Their Lord - who knows them better - asks them, 'What are My slaves saying?' They say, 'They are glorifying You, proclaiming Your greatness, praising You and magnifying You.' He says, 'Have they seen Me?' They say, 'No, by Allah, they have not seen You.' He says, 'How would it be if they were to see Me?' [extra 'He said's deleted] They say, 'If they were to see You, they would worship You even more intensely and magnify You even more intensely and glorify You even more intensely.' He says, 'What are they asking Me for?'They say, 'They are asking You for the Garden.' He says, 'Have they seen it?' They say, 'No, by Allah, they have not seen it.'" He says, 'How would it be if they were to see it?' They say, 'If they were to see it, they would yearn for it even more strongly and seek it even more assiduously and would have an even greater desire for it.' He says, 'What are they seeking refuge from?' 'They are seeking refuge from the Fire.' He says, 'Have they seen it?' He says, 'How would it be if they were to see it?' They say, 'If they were to see it, they would flee from it even harder and have an even greater fear of it.' He says, 'I testify to you that I have forgiven them.' One of angels says, 'Among them is so-and-so who is not one of them. He came to get something he needed.' He says, 'They are sitting and the one sitting with them will not be wretched.'" (al-Bukhari)

8. ÔAbdullah ibn 'Umar reported: "I asked, 'Messenger of Allah, what is the booty of the assemblies of dhikr?' He replied, 'The booty of the asemblies of dhikr is the Garden.'" (Ahmad)

9. Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "When you come upon the meadows of the Garden, graze in them." He was asked, "What are the meadows of the Garden?" "Circles of dhikr." he replied. (at-Tirmidhi)

10. 'Amr ibn ÔAbasa said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah say about the right hand of the All-Merciful, 'Both His hands are right hands. There are men who are not Prophets or martyrs the whiteness of whose faces overpowers the sight of those who look. The Prophets and martyrs envy their seat and proximity to Allah Almighty.' He was asked, 'Messenger of Allah, who are they?' He replied, 'A mixture of isolated people from the tribes who meet to remember Allah and select the best words as someone who eats dates selects the best ones.'" (at-Tabarani)

-Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani
from at-Targhib wa at-Tarhib

Inner Wakefulness

2007-02-07T00:10:00.000-05:00

This place is a dream
only a sleeper considers it real
then death comes like dawn
and you wake up laughing
at what you thought
was your grief

A man goes to sleep in the town
where he has always lived
and he dreams
he's living in another town
in the dream he doesn't remember
the town he's sleeping in his bed in
he believes the reality
of the dream town
the world is that kind of sleep

Humankind is being led
along an evolving course,
through this migration
of intelligences
and though we seem
to be sleeping
there is an inner wakefulness,
that directs the dream
and that will eventually
startle us back
to the truth of
who we are

-from The Essential Rumi

A Discourse on Sexual Desire

2007-02-06T11:01:00.000-05:00

Know that man has been made subject to sexual desire for two beneficial reasons. The first of these is that by knowing its delight he is able to draw an analogy which suggests to him what the delight of the Afterlife must be like. For the delight of the sexual act, were it to last, would be the greatest pleasure of the body, just as the pain of a burn is the body’s greatest agony. Encouragement and deterrence [al-targhib wa’l-tarhib], which drive people towards their saving happiness, can only be brought about by means palpable pain and pleasure, since what cannot be perceived through experience will never be greatly desired. The second reason is that it allows the human race to continue and the world [‘alam] to abide. Such are its benefits.

However, sexual desire also contains evil which may destroy both religion and the world if it is not controlled and subjugated, and restored to a state of equilibrium. It has been said that His word (Exalted is He!), O our Lord! Burden us not with more that we can bear! [II:286] refers, when correctly interpreted, to powerful lust. And Ibn ‘Abbas understood His word (Exalted is He!), wa-min sharri ghasiqin idha waqab [CXIII:3] to refer to ‘the erection of the male member’.

It is told that Moses (upon whom be peace) was once sitting in company when Satan came up to him wearing a cloak in which he assumed many colours [yatalawwanu fihi alwan]. When he drew near to him he took this off and set it aside. Then he said, ‘Peace be upon you Moses!’ Moses ask him who he was and he replied, ‘I am Satan’. ‘God slay you!’ Moses said. ‘What brings you here?’ And he answered, ‘I have come to greet you in view of your great rank in the sight of God’. ‘What was it that I saw you wearing?’ he asked, and he replied, ‘A cloak with which I snatch away the hearts of the descendants of Adam’. ‘What is it then,’ Moses asked, ‘that a man does which enables you to prevail over them?’ And he replied, ‘He becomes pleased with himself, and considers that he has many good deeds to his credit, and forgets his sins. Now, I would warn you against three things! Never be alone with a woman who is not lawful for you, for never does a man do so without having me, not my companions, as his companion, so that I tempt them both with one another. Never make a vow to God without fulfilling it. And never prepare something to give as charity and then fail to give it, for never does a man do so without having me, not my companions, as his companion, so that I prevent him from giving it [at a later time]’. Then he went away, crying, ‘Woe is me! Moses has learnt something against which to warn the descendants of Adam!’

Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib once said, ‘Satan never despaired of destroying any previous prophet by means of women. In my opinion they are to be feared more than anything else. I do not enter a single house in Medina – apart from my own and that of my daughter, which I take a bath in on Fridays and then leave’ (Abu Nu'aym).

Someone once said, ‘The devil says to women: “You are half my army! You are my arrow with which I do not miss! You are my confidante! You are my messenger with whom I achieve my wants!” Thus half his army is desire, the other half being anger.’

The desire for women, which the greatest of all desires, is susceptible to excess, defect, and equilibrium. Excess obtains when the intellect is overcome, so that a man’s concern is so distracted towards the enjoyment of women and slavegirls that he is unable to tread the path of the Afterlife; or it may overcome a man’s religion, so that he is drawn into obscene activities. This may become so extreme in some cases that two foul habits are acquired. Firstly, he may partake of something which makes him desire to have intercourse more often, just as some people take certain drugs which strengthen the stomach and allow them to eat more of the things which they desire. This resembles nothing so much as a man tormented by savage beasts and snakes which sleep from time to time, but which he finds methods of awakening and arousing, and then has to make his peace with. For the desires for food and intercourse are in reality pains, which a man would rather be free of so as to gain another form of delight. Should you object that it has been narrated in a gharib (A hadith which contains unusual lexis, or which is related by only one chain of authorities. (Jurjani)) Tradition that the Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘I complained to Gabriel that I would like more strength when having intercourse with my wives, and he instructed me to eat harisa,’ (Tabarani, Tabarsi) then you should know that he had (may God bless him and grant him peace) nine wives, and that he was obliged to satisfy them all, and that no-one was permitted to marry them after his death, or even if he divorced them: his request for strength was therefore for this, and not for enjoyment.

The second thing is that in the case of some misguided people this desire may end in amorous passion [‘ishq], which constitutes utter ignorance of the intended purpose of sexual congress, and a descent to a level lower than that of the animals. For such people are not content merely to gratify their lust, which is the unsightliest of all desires and the one of which a man should most be embarrassed, but instead believe that their lust can only be satisfied by one person. An animal finds it enough to satisfy its lust anywhere it can, whereas these people will only be satisfied by one person in particular, which thing heaps abasement upon abasement, and enslavement upon enslavement, until their intellects are subordinated to the service of their cravings, even though the intellect has been created to be obeyed, not to obey desires and devise means of gratifying them. Amorous passion is nothing but a wellspring of excessive sexual desire, and is the disease of an empty and unconcerned heart. One should be one’s guard against its preliminaries by abstaining from repeated glances and thoughts. Otherwise, it will take firm hold of one and be difficult to shake off. In this it resembles the passion which certain people harbour for wealth, status, land and children, or even for playing with birds, lutes, backgammon, or chess, all of which may posses them to such a degree that their religious and worldly lives are adulterated and they are unable ever to abstain from them. To break the power of amorous passion in its early stages is like pulling at the reins of a riding-beast when it heads for a gate it would like to enter: to rein it back is a very easy thing, whereas to treat such a passion after it has taken hold of one is like letting the beast go in, and then catching it by its tail and pulling it from behind: a much more difficult task. One should therefore take precautions at the onset of these things, for later they can only be treated with an effort so intense as almost to lead to death.

Excess in the matter of sexual desire, then, causes the intellect to be overcome to this degree, which is very much to be condemned. Insufficient sexual desire, however, leads to an indifference to women, or to giving them insufficient pleasure, which is also to be condemned. Sexual desire is praiseworthy thing when it stands in a state of equilibrium, obedient to the intellect and the Law in all its movements. Whenever it becomes excessive, it should be broken with hunger and marriage. The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘O young men! You should marry, and whosoever cannot should fast, for fasting is a form of castration.’ (Bukhari)

-Hujjatul Islam, Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Breaking The Two Desires (Kitab Kasr al-Shahwatayn); Book XXIII of The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din)

Invoking blessings on the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him)

2007-02-05T22:49:00.000-05:00

the above transliteration is :-

Allahumma salli ' wa sallim was baarik ala Sayyidina Muhammadil
nil-fatihi lima Ughliqa wal khatimi lima sabaqa wan-naa-siril-haqqi
bil-haqqi wal-hadi ila Sirati-kal-mustaqima sal-lal-lahu 'alayhi
wa 'ala alihi wa-ashaabihi haqqa qadrihi wa-miq-da rihil-'azim.

the above translation is:-

O God bless our Master Muhammad (pbuh) who opened what had been closed, and who is the Seal of what had gone before, he who makes the Truth Victorious by the Truth, the guide to thy straight path, and bless his household as is the due of his immense position and grandeur.

I am sure you have heard the fact that there is no such thing as invoking too much salawat on the Prophet and that we should stay clear of anyone who makes such a claim. We will only mention here some evidence on this topic by way of a reminder.

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet said: "If people sit in an gathering in which they do not remember Allah nor invoke a blessing on the Prophet, it will be a cause of grief for them on the Day of Judgment." (Narrated by Tirmidhi, who graded it hasan.)

The author of Fath al-`allam said: "This hadith proves that it is incumbent on one to remember Allah and invoke blessings on the Prophet while sitting in an gathering, for whether we take the words "cause of grief" to mean torment of fire or any other punishment, obviously a punishment is incurred only when an obligatory act is neglected or a forbidden act is committed, and here it is both the remembrance of Allah and the invoking of blessings on His Prophet that are apparently incumbent."

Dua For Relief Of Debt

2007-02-04T13:57:00.000-05:00

Once a Sahaba (radhiallahu anhu) came to the Beloved Rasool (peace & blessings be upon him) and complained that the world has turned its back on him (referring to poverty). Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (peace & blessings be upon him) said to him, “Do you not know that Tasbeeh which is also the Tasbeeh of the Angles of sustenance? It is due to this Tasbeeh that Allah (peace & blessings be upon him) gives sustenance. The needs of this Duniya will come to you in abundance. Recite this Tasbeeh 100 times daily at the rise of early morning (just after Sobho-Saadiq). This is the sacred Tasbeeh of the Angels,

سبحان الله و بحمده سبحان الله العظيم و بحمده استغفر الله

Seven days passed and the Sahaba(radhiallahu anhu) returned to the Holy Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) and said: “Ya Rasoolullah (peace & blessings be upon him)! The Duniya (wealth) is coming to me so abundantly that I do not know how to carry it or where to put it. I am absolutely amazed and astonished as to what to do with it.”

-Fath al-Bari narrated by umm al-mu'minin Sayyidah A'iesha (radhiallahu anha)

The Name Of Allah

2007-02-03T23:57:00.000-05:00

Let's say the name of Allah all the time.
Let's see what my Lord does.
Let's travel the Way always.
Let's see what my Lord does.

Just when you least expect it,
suddenly the veil is lifted.
The remedy arrives in time.
Let's see what my Lord does.

What did Yunus do?
What did he do?
He found a straight Path,
held the hand of a guide.
Let's see what my Lord does.

-Yunus Emre

Forgive Me

2007-02-03T22:15:00.000-05:00

Giving thanks for abundance
is sweeter than the abundance itself:
Should one who is absorbed with the Generous One
be distracted by the gift?
Thankfulness is the soul of beneficence;
abundance is but the husk,
for thankfulness brings you to the place where the Beloved lives.
Abundance yields heedlessness;
thankfulness brings alertness:
hunt for bounty with the net of gratitude.

Rumi
Mathnawi III, 2895-2897

Could Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) Read?

2007-02-03T19:10:00.000-05:00

This lecture is in three parts: Part 1A, Part 1B and Part 2
A lecture delivered by Shaykh M I H Pirzada at the Leeds Makkah Masjid (UK)
on Sunday 17 December 2006.

In Parts 1A and 1B, Shaykh Pirzada addresses the issue concerning the noble Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) not reciting at the first divine revelation and he answers
the criticisms that the Prophet (peace be upon him) could not read.

In Part 2, Shaykh Pirzada highlights the importance of education and the pursuit of scientific
knowledge as seen through the first Qur’anic revelation.

The lecture is translated into English by Bakhtyar H. Pirzada al-Azhari.

11 Principles Of The Naqshbandi Sufi Order

2007-02-03T16:30:00.000-05:00

The following eleven principles show the exercise aims of the Tariqat Naqshbandiya. The first eight were formulated by Khwaja Abd-al-Khaliq al-Ghujdawani and the last three were added by Khwaja Bahauddin Naqshband.

01-Yad Kard
Remembrance or making mention, both oral and mental, be always repeating the Zikr imparted to you so that you may attain the beatific vision. Khwaja Bahauddin Naqshband said, “The aim in Zikr is that the heart be always aware of Al-Haqq[The Truth, a Beautiful Name of Allah], for its practice banished inattention.”

02-Baz Gasht
Restraint: The person saying the Zikr when engaging in the heart repetition of the blessed phrase [shahada] should intersperse it with such phrases as “my God you are my Goal and your satisfaction is my aim”, to help keep one’s thoughts from straying. Other masters say that it means ‘return’ or ‘repent’ i.e. return to Al-Haqq by way of contrition [inkisar].

03-Nigah Dasht
Watchfulness: Over wandering, passing thoughts when repeating the blessed phrase.

04-Yad Dasht
Recollection: concentration upon the Divine Presence in a condition of Dhawq [zoq], foretaste, intuitive anticipation or perceptiveness not using external aids.

05-Hosh Dar Dam
Awareness while breathing: the technique of breath control. Khawaja Bahauddin Naqshband said, “The external basis of this tariqa is the breath.” One must not exhale or inhale in forgetfulness.

06-Safar Dar Watan
Journeying in one’s homeland: This is an interior journey, the movement from blameworthy to praiseworthy qualities. Others refer to it as the vision or revelation of the hidden side of shahada.

07-Nazar Bar Qadam
Watching one’s steps: Let the salik [pilgrim] ever be watchful during his journey whatever the type of country through which he is passing that he does not let his gaze be distracted from the goal of his journey.

08-Khalwat Dar Anjuman
Soltitude in a crowd: The journey of the salik though outwardly is in the world, inwardly it is with God. Leaders of the Tariqa have said, “In this tariqa association is in the crowd [assembly] and disassociation in the khalwa”. A common weekly practice was to perform Zikr in the assembly.

09-Wuquf-e-Zamani
Temporal pause: Keeping account of how one is spending his time, whether rightly and if so give thanks or wrongly and if so asking for forgiveness, according to the ranking of the deeds, for “verily the good deeds of the righteous are the equities of those who are near [to God]”.

10-Wufuf-e-Adadi
Numerical pause: Checking that the ‘heart Zikr’ [said in the heart, silently] has been repeated the requisite number of times, taking into account one’s wandering. Bahauddin Naqshband considered numerical awareness the first stage of esoteric knowledge.

11-Wuquf-e-Qalbi
Heart pause: Forming a mental picture of one’s heart with the name of Allah. Engraved thereon, to emphasize that the heart has no consciousness or goal other than Allah. This is the meaning of “Naqshband”.

Chechen Zikr

2007-02-03T16:19:00.000-05:00

The Honorable & Exalted Status Of Rasool Allah (Peace & Blessings Be Upon Him)

2007-02-03T13:09:00.000-05:00

The Excellence of His Glorious Names
Hazrat Jabir bin Mut’am radhi-allahu-anhu relates that I heard the Holy Prophet say, ‘I have many names. One of them is Muhammad and another is Ahmad. I am known as Haasshir, for (on the Day of Judgment) the entire human race will be gathered together under my banner. I am also called Aqib and Aqib is the one after whom there is no other prophet.
(Bukhari and Muslim)

The First to Be Granted Prophethood
Hazrat Abu Huraira radhi-allahu-anhu relates that the Sahaba asked, ‘O Holy Prophet! When were you granted prophethood?’ The Holy Prophet replied, ‘I was granted prophethood before the creation of Adam.’
(Tirmizi)

Hazrat Jabir radhi-allahu-anhu once asked, ‘O Holy Prophet! What was the very first thing that Allah created?’ The Holy Prophet replied, ‘Jabir, the very first thing that Allah created before anything else was the noor (light) of your prophet from His (divine) noor.’
(Mawahib-e-Ladunniyah related by Hazrat Abdurrazzaq)

The Imam of All Prophets
Hazrat Ubay bin Kaab radhi-allahu-anhu relates that the Holy Prophet said, ‘On the day of Judgment, I will be the Imam (leader) of all the prophets and the one who will speak on their behalf with Allah. It will be because of me that other prophets will be given permission to intercede. I do not boast about this.’
(Tirmizi)

The Last Prophet
Hazrat Abu Huraira radhi-allahu-anhu relates that the Holy Prophet said, ‘My position amongst the rest of the prophets can be compared to a palace which has been beautifully built but the space of one brick has been left empty. People looked around the palace and marveled at its splendor and immaculate construction except for that empty space of one brick. I filled that empty space and hence completed the construction of that palace. In the same way, the advent of prophets was completed by my advent into this world.’ In another hadeeth, it is related that the Holy Prophet said, ‘I am like the brick that was missing in the “Palace of Prophet hood” and I am the last prophet.’
(Bukhari and Muslim)

His Unique Characteristics
Hazrat Aisha radhi-allahu-anha relates that the Holy Porphet forbade his Ummah from fasting continuously (without breaking the fast each day at sunset) by his mercy and kindness. The Sahaba said to him, ‘You fast in this way (but forbid us from doing so)’. The Holy Prophet replied, ‘I am not like you. My Lord provides me with food and drink.’
(Bukhari)

A Mercy and Blessing for All Creations
Hazrat Abu Huraira radhi-allahu-anhu relates that the Holy Prophet was once asked to curse the disbelievers (who were persecuting and torturing the Muslims severely) but the Holy Prophet replied, ‘I have not been sent to curse; I was sent as a mercy and blessing.
(Muslim)

The Greatest Amongst Prophets
Hazrat Ibn-e-Abbas radhi-allahu-anhu relates that some Sahaba were sitting together when the Holy Prophet approached them and listened to them talking amongst themselves. One Sahabi said, ‘Allah appointed Prophet Ibraheem as his Khaleel (very close and dear friend).’ Another said, ‘Allah spoke (directly) to Prophet Moosa.’ A third Sahabi said, ‘Prophet Eesa is ‘Kalimatullah’ (Allah’s word) and ‘Ruhullah’ (Allah’s spirit).’ A fourth Sahabi said, ‘Prophet Adam is ‘Safiullah’ (Allah’s chosen one).’
The Holy Prophet went upto them and said, ‘I heard your conversation. You are surprised that Ibraheem is ‘Khaleelullah’ yet he is worthy of that rank and that Mossa is ‘Najeeulla’ (‘Kaleemullah’), he is worthy of that rank and that Eesa is ‘Ruhullah’ and ‘Kalimatullah’, he is worthy of those ranks and that Adam is ‘Safiullah’, he too is worthy of those ranks and that Adam is ‘Safiullah’, he too is worthy of that rank. Listen carefully! I am ‘Habeebullah’ (Allah’s beloved) but I do not say this to boast.
On the Day of Judgment, ‘Liva-ul-Hamd’ (Holy Prophet’s special flag) will be in my hand alone. Adam and entire human race will be beneath it. I do not boast about this. I will be the first one to intercede with Allah on behalf of sinners on the Day of Judgment and I will be the first one whose shaffa’ah (intercession) will be accepted. I do not boast about this. I will be the first one to turn the key of Paradise. The poor amongst the Muslims will be with me at that time. Allah will open the door of paradise for my sake and will allow me to enter it. I do not boast about this. In Allah’s view, I am the most honorable amongst all those who have passed and all those who are to come. I do not boast about this.’
(Tirmizi)

His Life after His Physical Departure from This World
Hazrat Abud Darda radhi-allahu-anhu relates that the Holy Prophet said, ‘Recite a lot of salat and salam (durood) upon me on Friday because this is witnessed by angels who are present upon this day (for this purpose). The salat and salam of everyone who recites it is presented before me until they stop reciting salat and salam.’ Hazrat Abu Darda says, I asked, ‘(OHoly Prophet!) Will the salat and salaam be presented before you even after your death?’ The Holy Prophet replied, ‘(Yes, because) Allah has forbidden the earth from decomposing the bodies of prophets. Hence, Allah’s prophets are alive and they are given ‘rizq’ (nourishment in their graves).’
(Ibn Majah)

Life and Death
Hazrat Abu Saeed Khudri radhi-allahu-anhu narrates that one day, the Holy Prophet sat upon the minbar in the mosque and said, ‘Indeed, Allah has given a servant of His a choice between taking as much as he wishes from the treasures and pleasures of this world or accepting the rewards and the blessings that his Lord has kept for him. That person chose the rewards and blessings that Allah has kept for him.’ On hearing this, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddeeq radhi-allahu-anhu wept and said, ‘O Holy Prophet! We would sacrifice our parents for you! (i.e. you are more dear to us than even our parents).”
Hazrat Abu Saeed Khudri radhi-allahu-anhu says, ‘We were very surprised by this statement of Hazrat Abu Bakr’s. People started to say, ‘Look at this old man. The Holy Prophet was talking about a person who was given a choice between the pleasures of this world and the rewards of the Hereafter and that person chose the rewards of the Hereafter and Hazrat Abu Bakr says, “O Holy Prophet! We would sacrifice our parents for you!”’ In fact, that person (who was given this choice) was the Holy Prophet himself and Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddeeq radhi-allahu-anhu was the most learned amongst us (and hence, only he realized this).’
(Bukhari and Muslim)

The Owner of the Treasures of the Universe
Hazrat Abu Huraira radhi-allahu-anhu relates that the Holp Prophet said, ‘I have been sent with the gift of ‘jawaami-ul-kalim’ (speech which is concise in words but vast in meaning). I have been helped by the fact that fear of me has been put into the hearts of disbelievers. I was asleep once and I saw that the keys of all the treasures of the earth were presented to me and placed in my hand.’
(Bukhari and Muslim)

The Distributor of Allah’s Bounties
Hazrat Jabir Radhi-allahu-anhu relates that the Holy Prophet said, ‘Keep your names the same as my name but do not keep anyone’s ‘kuniyyah’ (title) the same as my ‘kuniyyah’ because only I have been appointed as ‘Qasim’ (distributor). I distribute Allah’s favors and gifts amongst you.’
(Bukhari and Muslim)

Foretelling of Events
Hazrat Huzaifa radhi-allahu-anhu relates, ‘One day the Holy Prophet stood before us (Sahaba) and told us about every single event that was going to occur until the day of judgment. He who remembered these facts remembered them and he who forgot them forgot them. These friends of mine (Sahaba) know this. Whenever any of these events occur (about which the Holy Prophet had informed us) which I had forgotten, then on seeing it taking place, I immediately rmemember it in the same way as a person recognizes some one immediately, whom he has not seen for a long time, upon seeing him again.’
(Bukhari and Muslim)

His Knowledge of the Unseen
Hazrat Umar radhi-allahu-anhu relates, ‘The Holy Prophet stood before us (Sahaba) one day and told us about everything that had happened from the beginning of creation and everything that was going to occur right up to the time when the inhabitants of Paradise and inhabitants of Hell would occupy their respective places in these two abodes. He who remembered these facts remembered them and he who forgot them forgot them.’
(Bukhari)

His Challenge to People to Ask Him Anything
Hazrat Anas bin Malik radhi-allahu-anhu relates that one day after midday, the Holy Prophet came from his house and led us in the Zuhr prayer, the Holy Prophet stood on the minbar. He spoke about the Day of Judgment and said that many great events would take place before it. Then Holy Prophet said, “If anyone wishes to ask me about anything then do so. I swear by Allah! Whilst I am standing here, I shall answer every question you ask me!”
Hazrat Anas radhi-allahu-anhu says that on hearing this everyone started crying (Through fear). The Holy Prophet was repeatedly saying, “Ask me!” Hazrat Anas says that a man stood up and said, “O Holy Prophet! Where will my abode be (in the Hereafter)?” The Holy Prophet replied, “Hell”. Then Hazrat Abdullah bin Huzafah radhi-allahu-anhu stood up and said, “O Holy Prophet! Who is my father?” The Holy Prophet replied, “Your father is Huzafah.”
Hazrat Anas says that the Holy Prophet again repeatedly said, “Ask me! Ask me(anything you want to)!” Seeing what was happening, Hazrat Umar radhi-allahu-anhu rose and sat very respectfully (as we do during ‘tashahhud’ in salah) in front of the Holy Prophet and said, “We are satisfied and contented that Allah is our Lord, that Islam is our ‘Deen’ (religion and way of life) and that Muhammad (sallallahu-alaihi-wasalam) is our prophet.” On hearing Hazrat Umar’s words, the Holy Prophet fell silent. Then he said, “I swera by Him (Allah) in whose control is my life! Just now during the (Zuhr) prayer, I was shown Paradise and Hell in front of this wall. I have never before witnessed good and evil as I have today.”
(Bukhari)

Praying for Rain in Madeenah Munawara
Hazrat Anas Radhi-allahu-anhu relates that once in the Holy Prophet’s time, the people were afflicted by severe drought and famine. Whilst the Holy Prophet was delivering the Friday sermon seated upon the minbar, a villager stood up and said, ‘O Holy Prophet! Our animals are perishing and our children are starving as a result of this famine. Please pray to Allah for us.’
The Holy Prophet raised hid hands for prayer. Hazrat Anas says that at that time we could not see a even a speck of cloud in the sky but I swear by Allah! The Holy Prophet had not yet even lowered his hands after his ‘dua’ (prayer) when grey clouds as large as mountains began to appear in the sky and it rained heavily. When the Holy Prophet descended from the minbar, I could see raindrops dripping from his beard. It continued to rain that day, the next day, the day after and every day until the following Friday. (When the Holy Prophet sat upon the minbar to deliver the Friday sermon the following week) the same villager or someone else stood up and said, ‘O Holy Prophet! Because of the abundance of rain, buildings are collapsing and animals are drowning (in the floods). Pray to Allah for us.’ The Holy Prophet raised his hands for ‘dua’ and prayed, ‘O Allah! Make it rain around us but not upon us.’ The Holy Prophet was pointing to the clouds and directing them with his hand. Whichever direction the Holy Prophet pointed in, the clouds broke away from there until the entire sky over Madeenah was absolutely clear (of clouds) and it now rained around Madeenah. Whenever anyone came to Madeenah from another city, they spoke of the abundance of rain.
(Bukhari and Muslim)

Hazrat Abu Huraira’s Mother Accepts Islam
Hazrat Abu Huraira radhi-allahu-anhu says, ‘My mother was a disbeliever. I used to keep inviting her to accept Islam. Once, when I asked her to become a Muslim, she said very disrespectful words about the Holy Prophet. This saddened me greatly. Crying, I went to the Holy Prophet and said, ‘O Holy Prophet! Pray to Allah that He may guide my mother to accept Islam!’ The Holy Prophet prayed, “O Allah! Guide Abu Huraira’s mother (to accept Islam).’ Hazrat Abu Huraira says that hearing the Holy Prophet’s prayer, I returned home joyfully. When I arrived home I saw that the door was closed. Having heard my footsteps, my mother said, ‘Abu Huraira! Wait outside!’ I heard water splashing onto the ground. My mother had a bath and dressed. Opening the door hurriedly she said, ‘Abu Huraira! I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad ( sallallahu-alaihi-wasalam) is His (noble) servant and true prophet.’ On hearing this, crying for joy, I immediately went to the Holy Prophet and gave him the good news of my mother’s acceptance of Islam. The Holy Prophet praised Allah and blessed me with his prayers.
(Muslim)

His Knowledge of Events Occurring in Barzakh
Hazrat Inve Abbas radhi-allhu-anhu relates that the Holy Prophet once passed by two graves. He said that the people in these two graves were being punished and that this was not due to any big sins. In fact, it was due to very small sins. One of them did not bother preventing drops of urine getting onto his body and clothes. The other used to spread malicious stories about people. The Holy Prophet then took a fresh branch of a tree, split into two pieces and stuck a piece of branch into each of the two graves. The Sahaba asked him, ‘O Holy Prophet! Why have you done this?’ The Holy Prophet replied, ‘Whilst these branches remain fresh, the punishment in these graves will be reduced.’
(Bukhari)

Splitting the Moon
Hazrat Anas radhi-allahu-anhu relates that the people of Makkah asked the Holy Prophet to show them a ‘mu’jiza’ (a miracle – as proof of his prophethood). In response, the Holy Prophet split the moon into two parts until they could see Mount Hira between the two halves.
(Bukhari and Muslim)

The Flowing of Water from His Hands
Hazrat Jabir radhi-allahu-anhu relates that people were extremely thirsty on the day of the Peace Treaty of Hudaibiyyah. The Holy Prophet had a water vessel in front of him from which he was performing ‘wudhu’. Everyone went to him and said, ‘We have not got any water at all to perform ‘wudhu’ or to drink. The only water we have (amongst us altogether) is that which is in your water-vessel.’ Hearing this, the Holy Prophet placed his blessed hand into that vessel and (miraculously) water began to gush forth from between his fingers like springs of water. Hazrat Jabir says that we all drank our fill and performed ‘wudhu’ from that water. Hazrat Jabir was asked how many people were present (that day) and he replied, ‘Even if we had numbered one hundred thousand that water would have been sufficient for us but there were only fifteen hundred of us that day.
(Bukhari and Muslim)

Benefits of Reciting Salat and Salam
Hazrat Anas radhi-allahu-anhu relates that the Holy Prophet said, ‘Whoever recites salat and salam (durood) upon me once, Allah grants that person ten blessings, forgives ten of his sins and elevates his status by ten dgrees.’
(Nissaee)

Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar radhi-allahu-anhu says, “Whoever recites salat and salam upon the Holy Prophet once, Allah and His Angels send their blessings upon that person seventy times.”
(Mishkat)

Reporting Events in Syria Whilst in Madeenah
Hazrat Anas radhi-allahu-anhu relates that the Holy Prophet informed us of ‘shahadah’ (martyrdom) of Hazrat Zaid, Hazrat Jafar and Hazrat Ibn-u-Ravaha radhi-allahu-anhum before this news reached us (in Madeenah) from the battlefield (in Syria). The Holy Prophet said, “Zaid held the banner of Islam first and was martyred fighting to the end. The Jafar held the banner and was also martyred fighting to the end. Then Ibn-u-Ravaha held it and he too was martyred.” Whilst the Holy Prophet was relating this, tears were streaming down his noble face. (The Holy Prophet continued) “then ‘Saif-um-min-Suyufillah’ (a sword from amongst Allah’s swords) Khalid bin Waleed held the banner of Islam and Allah granted Muslims victory over their enemy.”
(Bukhari)

The Necessity of Loving Rasool Allah (Peace Be Upon Him)

2007-02-03T13:06:00.000-05:00

Allah says, ‘(O Holy Prophet!) Say (to the believers) if your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your clan, the wealth that you have earned, the business in which you fear loss and your chosen houses are more dear to you than Allah and His prophet and jihad (fighting or struggling) in His cause then wait until Allah brings forth His command (punishment.’
(Holy Quran, Surah 9, At-Tauba, Verse 24)

Qadhi Iyadh rahmatullah-alaih writes that this verse is sufficient proof and indication of the necessity of loving the Holy Prophet and the fact that this is an immensely important obligation.

The Holy Prophet said, ’None amongst you can be a true believer until his love for me is greater than the love he holds for his parents, his children and everyone else.’
(Bukhari and Muslim related by Hazrat Anas)

Hazrat Anas radhi-allahhu-anhu also relates that the Holy Prophet said, ‘A person who possesses the following three qualities has acquired the true meaning of eeman(faith):

1. His love for Allah and the Holy Prophet Muhammad sallallahu-alaihi-wasallam is greater than his love for anyone else.
2. His friendship with anyone is solely for Allah’s pleasure.
3. Having accepted Islam, he abhors ‘kufr’(disbelief) as much as he would loathe burning in fire.’
(Bukhari and Muslim)

Hazrat Umar radhi-allahu-anhu said to the Holy Prophet, ‘I love you more than everything than myself.’ The Holy Prophet said, ‘None amongst you can be atrue believer until I am dearer to him than even himself.’
Hazrat Umar said, ‘I swear by Him (Allah) who revealed the Book (Holy Quran) to you! You are indeed dearer to me than even myself.’
The Holy Prophet replied, ‘Umar, now your eeman (faith) is complete.’
(Bukhari)

The ahadeeth below have been selected from ‘Ash-Shifa’ , Part Two, Chapter Two, Section 2; ‘The Reward for Loving the Prophet’:

A man came to the Holy Prophet and asked, ‘When will the day of Judgment come?’ The Holy Prophet replied, ‘What have you prepared for it?’ The man said, ‘I have not prepared for it with a lot of salah, fasting or sadqah (charitable donations) but I do love Allah and His Prophet. ‘The Holy Prophet said to him , ‘Anta ma’a man ahbabta (On the day of judgment) you will be with the one you love.’
(Bukhari related by Hazrat Anas)

Hazrat Safwan bin Qudamah radhi-allahu-anhu relates, ‘I did hijra (emigrated) to the Holy Prophet and went to him and said, “O Holy Prophet! Give me your hand so I may swear the oath of allegiance to you,” The Holy Prophet gave me his hand. I said to him, “O Holy Prophet! I do indeed love you, “The Holy Prophet replied, “Al-mar’u ma’a man ahabba- A person is (and always will be) with the one he loves.”’
(Tirmizi and Nissaee)

A man came to the Holy Prophet and said, ‘O Holy Prophet! You are indeed dearer to me than my family and my wealth, I remember you and I cannot wait until I can come and look at you. I think of my death and yours and know that when you enter paradise you will be at a high ranking place with the prophets and so, even if I am granted entrance to paradise I will not be able to see you (because of your high status).
In response to this, Allah revealed the verse: “And he who obeys Allah and the Prophet, he will be with those whom Allah has favored-the prophets, the siddiqeen (truthful people), the shuhada (martyrs) and the saliheen (pious people). And what good companions they are.” (Holy Quran, Surah 4: An-Nisa, Verse69). The Holy Prophet called the man and recited this verse to him.