amaturrahmaan

The Shaykh is the doctor who removes the cataract from the eyes of the spiritual heart, after which the Saalik is blessed with baseerat (spiritual sight) and Ma`rifat of Allah Ta’ala. And naturally, having recognized the Beloved, the goal is achieved.

By Hazrat Maulana Abdul Hamid Is`haq (Daamat Barakaatuhum) On one occasion, when Hazrat Maulana Yusuf Kandhlawi (Rahmatullahi ‘Alayh) gave the Jumu`ah Khutbah, his respected father, Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ilyaas (Rahmatullahi ‘Alayh) asked him what intention he had made for the Khutbah he had delivered. Hazrat Maulana Yusuf (Rahmatullahi ‘Alayh) replied that his Niyyah (intention) was to deliver the Sunnah Khutbah. Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ilyaas (Rahmatullahi ‘Alayh) advised him thus: “Had you made the Niyyah that Allah Ta’ala conveys this message to all the people of the world, you would have then reaped so much more in thawaab (rewards), you would have secured tremendous rewards on such a niyyah.” Contemplating on this priceless gem, and thereafter on the intentions we make, it came to mind that on undertaking any khidmah of Deen – whether, Khutbah, bayaan, writing, travel for the purpose of Deen, etc. – we should keep the following points and concerns before us when formulating our intention, including the above. The following Dua is actually an extension and an explanation to the main intention to do solely and only for the Pleasure of Allah Ta’ala, and this Dua also reflects the weighty responsibility we have when engaging in the services of Deen, creating that concern to carry out our work in the best possible manner, as would be pleasing to Allah Ta’ala (Insha-Allah): When formulating our intentions, we should keep the following before us. Insha-Allah, it will assist us in understanding what a sincere intention should be: “O Allah, make this a means of Aml and Hidayah for myself and for all; grant me the Taufeeq to convey it correctly, and explain it correctly; let it be understood correctly and let it be practised upon correctly. O Allah, grant me 100% sincerity, as well as all the qualities of acceptance. Allow the message of Your Deen to spread to all mankind and jinn till the day of Qiyaamah. Wherever it reaches, in which ever way it reaches, by whatever means, let there be only good in it and let only good come out of it, let there be no evil or harm in it and let no harm come out of it. O Allah, Bless me to convey that which is necessary and beneficial, according to each individual; let there be no test or trial in it, no mistakes or errors in it, and O Allah, save me from any kind of disrespect also. O Allah, let each and every Ayah and Hadeeth be only for Your Pleasure. Seal this talk with Your Special Pleasure and Acceptance - whether of the sayings, actions and conditions of the pious, or the analogies and the examples, or the events, poems or anecdotes. O Allah, let every single moment spent in the Khidmat of Your Deen be only for Your pleasure. You, out of Your Kindness, declare it to be only for Your pleasure, as far as the words, meanings, insinuations and body language are concerned. O Allah, Crown our humble efforts and endeavours with acceptance even though not worthy of acceptance.”

‘When giving a talk in Bolton (UK), I mentioned that the name of their suburb tendered noble advice: That we place a bolt on the doors of our hearts – to shut nafs and shaytaan out of our hearts, and to protect the treasure of Allah Ta’ala in our hearts.’

It is said : ”The room in which there is no mirror, is worse than a prison-cell for a woman”. …Of course, the same can be said about many, many men, who spend hours in front of the mirror for the sole purpose of beautification. This statement is to give us an idea as to how often a person looks into the mirror; so much so, that one will say that the mirror is indispensable. …To look into a mirror, comb one’s hair, etc. is not Haraam (forbidden). In fact, to do so is the Sunnah of Nabi(Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam). We will also find in the duas of Nabi (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam), the dua when looking into a mirror: “O Allah, You have beautified my features, so beautify my character as well.” Even so, the mirror must not become an obsession. The efforts made in beautifying the face and maintaining the physical body in good shape, have turned into a multi-billion dollar industry. The interest and concern is directed towards something that will inevitably turn to dust; whereas we have not been created for just the beautification of the face and body; that from the morning until the night, the person is fixated with nothing but his physical appearance. Be that as it may, we find that there are various kinds of mirrors : There are those mirrors that give a true and correct reflection, then there are mirrors that magnify the person’s features, and there are even mirrors that reflect a distorted or twisted image. …The face may be the same, but the reflection is dependent on the type of mirror looked into. Then again, there are times when a person’s beauty is affected by other factors. …When we traveled by train, in India, we traveled in third class coaches and sometimes long distance. Due to some of the windows of the carriage left open, or due to the windows being broken, dust would cover the carriage. We would be covered with dust from head to toe. Anyone seeing us would see a different appearance. Accordingly, certain factors, like sickness, sleep, travel, etc. have an effect on a person’s appearance. Similarly, the same can be said about our physical hearts, as well as our spiritual hearts. The spiritual heart is also not always in the same condition. In fact, the heart is called ‘qalb’ in the Arabic language due to the fact that it is perpetually in a state of change. Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam) [1] explained the likeness of the heart as: ‘The heart (qalb) takes its name from its constant changes (taqallub). The likeness of the heart is that of a feather at the base of a tree, being turned over and over by the wind.’ ‘The heart of the son of Aadam changes more quickly than a pan of rapidly boiling water.’ Just as we are conscious of maintaining the beauty of our appearance and physique, there has to be a sense of consciousness, more so, in maintaining the beauty of the spiritual heart. As a poet aptly says : We looked into the mirror for blemishes on the face, But we did not look at all the blemishes of the heart. The mirrors for the spiritual heart are the Qur`aan Shareef, Ahaadeeth of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam) and the advice of the Ahlullah (People of Allah). Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam) has also informed us : ‘A Believer is the mirror for a Believer.’[2] Whilst a mirror discloses any defect in our physique; these mirrors disclose to us, the neglect and weakness of our spiritual hearts. We are thus able to gauge our spiritual condition. We are able to see the blemishes of our hearts in these mirrors. As I have said, there are some mirrors that give a magnified and enlarged reflection, or they give a distorted, twisted or skewed image – so then this is not a true and honest reflection of the person standing in front of that mirror. Similarly, there are Muslims who do not give a true reflection: If a Muslim is of bad character, and his actions are “twisted” and “distorted” due to his indulgence in sins, then he will not offer a proper reflection. Just as we appreciate that the mirror which gives a true reflection, draws our attention to that part of our face or body that requires cleaning or improvement, we should be grateful to be afforded these spiritual mirrors – of the Qur`aan Shareef, Ahaadeeth, wise teachings of the learned, and advice of righteous and sincere Muslims – by which we can clean, improve and beautify our spiritual hearts. …If we are assuming the role of the mirror, then we should keep in mind that a good mirror only discloses weakness or defect. A good mirror does not criticize, exaggerate and advertise to all and sundry, another person’s weakness. Being a “mirror” to another could also be taken to mean that a person should become righteous so that whoever sees him will be encouraged to do good deeds; like a person who looks into a mirror, and then tries to perfect his appearance. For example : A Muslim who wears the Sunnah dressing, will Insha-Allah, be a means of guidance and encouragement to those who see him and who are not dressed accordingly. They will be more conscious of their Muslim identity, and will, Insha-Allah, adopt the correct attire. The same would follow in respect to good actions, behaviour, dealings and so forth. If we are concerned about the beautification of our Imaan, we will make every effort to remove any trace of ‘unsightliness’ (i.e. pride, show, vanity, jealousy, malice, etc.) or even sins such as lying, cursing, casting evil gazes, interest, fraud and so forth. In the beauty industry, we will find all kinds of products, together with innumerable beauticians and consultants offering various treatments and packages. There are so many different kinds of washes, scrubs, lotions and creams advertised for facial and body beauty - “detoxifying wash, day cream, night cream, nourishing cream, replenishing cream, moisturising cream” and what not…. So in the spiritual industry, we will also find beauty “products”. Just as many use detoxifying washes and scrubs to clean the skin, so should we be giving our spiritual hearts an invigorating detoxifying wash and scrub, with sincere taubah and Istighfaar. Likewise, we will find the various spiritual “lotions” and “creams” for day, night, for different conditions and for all types of situations : The duas of morning and evening, Zikrullah, Tilawat of the Qur`aan Sharief, Durud Sharief, Ishraaq, Dhuhaa, Awwabeen, Tahajjud … all of which enhance the spiritual beauty during the day and replenish it during the night. Added to this, we should also enhance our inner beauty by ‘applying’ the qualities of piety, generosity, forgiveness, tolerance, patience and other virtues, like how so many women and so many men apply all kinds of creams, make-up and perfumes to enhance their physical beauty. Furthermore, there are so many who are particular about using “Sun block” to protect themselves against the harmful effects of sun exposure, using those lotions and creams which offer, as they say, “broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection”. Allah Ta’ala has also granted us a “Broad Spectrum Sin Protection” – and it is ‘marketed’ as “TAQWA”. This Taqwa blocks us from the harmful effects of sin exposure. The instruction in its use is simple : Apply it generously, all over one’s heart, body and soul, for maximum protection against sins: i.e. fear Allah in every sphere of life. And this is one “block” we cannot remain without. By Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Saheb (Rahmatullahi 'alayh) [1] ‘May Allah bless him and grant him peace’. This is mentioned after the name of the Prophet (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi waSallam). [2] Abu Dawud / Tirmidhi/ Bukhari

‘Where you don’t find Allah Ta’ala*, DISTANCE YOURSELF.’ * i.e. His Pleasure

Fashion is a test of the very severe kind. In fact, it is a madness and an obsession that has afflicted many. It makes a person blind, except to the chase of keeping up with the latest fashion trends, styles and designs; which are ever changing. Have we ever stopped to think that one day, very soon, we will leave this world wrapped in a simple kafan (shroud), the pattern and style of which has remained the same and will always remain as is? How senseless it is to make fashion the ‘be all and the end all’ of our lives, when the inescapable occasion of death calls for just one kafan,with no designer names or brand labels. Hazrat Maulana Jalaluddeen Rumi (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) makes plain this reality : The world is ‘darul ghuroor’ - A world of deception The day man is delivered to his grave, Nothing except his shroud accompanies him Since some people would have even competed in giving a costly kafan, Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi waSallam) said : “Do not be extravagant in shrouding, for it will be quickly decayed.” Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) had also mentioned before his demise : ‘…New clothes befit the living and old clothes befit the decaying body.’ This does not mean that new material must not be used for the kafan; rather it was said to prevent any kind of “competition” and differentiation in the kafan of rich from poor. To wear good clothes, eat fine food and live well is not Haraam (forbidden), if the earnings are Halaal (lawful) and our obligations to the poor and needy are also met. Many Muslims do not fulfill the obligation of Zakaat and Sadaqaat which is obligatory upon them, thus denying the poor and needy what rightfully belongs to them. This is a very major sin and the punishment is very severe. Whilst it is permissible to eat good food, dress well, etc. but to be lavish, exceeding all bounds of Islamic guidelines, ignoring the plight and the dire circumstances of the poor and needy is not acceptable. Many are without employment, food and homes – more especially in these times wherein inflation has gone through the roof, and a loaf of bread and a litre of milk are beyond the means of the poor. We should be considerate and remember that we will be questioned about our expenditure on the Day of Qiyaamah. …What has to be understood is that we must not become slaves of passion and fashion, nor should our dressing be a source of pride and arrogance. It is within acceptable limits to wear beautiful clothes, out of appreciation for the wealth bestowed upon us. A Hadeeth makes mention : “Allah loves to see the effects of His blessing on His slave.’’[1] Another Hadeeth states: “Allah is Beautiful and loves beauty. Pride means denying the truth and looking down on people.” [2] Allah Ta’ala highlights this outward adornment as a Divine Blessing, but categorically states that the best adornment, is the adornment of righteousness. “O Children of Adam! We have bestowed clothing upon you to cover yourselves and as an adornment, and the clothing of righteousness, that is the best. Such are among the Signs of Allah, that they may receive admonition.” [surah al-A’raaf 7:26] Thus, our clothing and accessories should not become the medium of us falling prey to the deadly diseases of takabbur (pride), ujub (vanity) and riyaa (show and ostentation), as is so common today. We have been cautioned in the Hadeeth in regards to even the intention behind our dressing: “Whoever wears garments for fame, Allah will clothe him with the garment of disgrace.” [3] It is this diversion and game of “fashion” which literally gulps and swallows Muslim money and opens the doors of wastage, extravagance, rivalry, living beyond one’s means, purchasing on interest; and being negligent of the purpose of this worldly life. …There is great ease and comfort in simple living without being shackled by the need to change with changing designs and fashion. Simplicity is a part of Imaan [4] and ‘The dress of Righteousness - that is the best.’ [surah Al-A’raaf 7 : 26] There are those who use the Ahaadeeth[5] on neatness, taharah[6], etc. as justification for modern day lavishness; whereas fashion, lavishness and extravagance are very different from neatness and good grooming. Hazrat Khwaja Azizul Hasan Majzoob (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) had very aptly stated : You are always concerned : ‘I must remain above all. My fashion and beautification must excel all.’ Is this how one who is going to die, lives? The outward beauty of the world has deceived you. From the Teachings of Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Saheb (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) [1] Tirmidhi [2] Sahih Muslim [3] Abu Dawood [4] Hadeeth of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi waSallam). [5] Ahaadeeth : Sayings of the Noble Prophet (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi waSallam)

By Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Saheb (Rahmatullah ‘Alayh) WEBSITE : YunusPatel.co.za One young friend of mine, who is a pilot, recently flew to Australia. Due to the ash clouds, they were told they would not be able to take off. They were thus delayed a few days. When he returned, I asked him : “There was still a lot of ash …What did you’ll do?” He said : ‘They gave us a flight path whereby we could bypass the ash clouds. We took this route and we avoided the ash.’ I then asked him : “Did you take any lesson from that?” He, in turn, asked : “What lesson?” I explained : “The lesson is this : When there was a lot of ash, then there was danger that the ash cloud would damage the engine of the Boeing you were flying. Your life was in danger and the lives of all the passengers were in danger. If you were caught in such an ash-cloud, you could have gone and the passengers could have gone. …So they gave you a ‘round about’ route, to avoid the ash clouds and reach your destination. The lesson we take is that when there is temptation to sin, or some fitnah approaching, we must avoid it. We must take a ‘round about’ route. If that plane crashed, the lives would have gone. However, here, if there is a crash – i.e. the person falls into sin – the spiritual life – Imaan - can go. …Some of those crashes take the person’s Imaan away. Some pretty face takes away the Imaan of a person, or some other temptation or invitation to Haraam leads to a spiritual crash. The environment of drugs, pornography, fornication and adultery, gambling, music, etc. are like those ash-clouds. The Muslim avoids all areas of sins – whether the cinemas, clubs, theatres or other venues of vice. To whatever extent he can avoid, he avoids. He takes a ‘round about’ route so that he can reach his destination safely. And the destination of a Muslim is Jannat. If there is a group of young girls dressed indecently and the gaze falls on them accidentally, then try and avoid an encounter with them. Don’t even look again. Think that the ash clouds are approaching. …If the person cannot lower his gaze and quickly walk pass, then he must move in another direction. Cross the street. Go over to the other side. Take another route lest he gets caught in the ash cloud of fitnah and loses his Imaan and Aakhirah. I told this pilot friend : ‘When you are flying the plane, then you avoid the ash clouds. Avoid those clouds of fitnah as well. …On the plane itself, there will be encounters with the air-hostesses and female passengers. At that time, guard the gaze. You must be an example. You must show to others that I am a Muslim. …That you don’t behave like the other pilots behave.’ And the same applies to all of us. We too face different ‘ash-clouds’ of fitnah – whether on the plane or train, whether at work or in the bazaars and market places, whether at school or college. How do we respond ? Do we adopt Taqwa? Do we fear Allah Ta’ala? Do we take the opportunity to prove our sincere and deep love for Allah Ta’ala? Do we subscribe to “Fafirroo Ilallaah’ – i.e. we flee to Allah Ta’ala? Or do we recklessly ‘fly’ into the ash clouds of sins, unconcerned that we may be meeting our spiritual death? There is no doubt that the environment around us is hazardous, dangerous and high-risk for our Imaan. Despite the scenario, a Muslim must be courageous. We do have the courage. We need to only make use of that courage. Steer the heart and body away from those ash-clouds of fitnah if we want to reach the Hereafter safely, if we want to enter Jannat without delay; and above this, if we want to earn the Pleasure of Allah Ta’ala. How do we build up this spiritual strength, whereby we avoid sins like how the pilot avoids the ash clouds, or like how we would avoid the plague… ? We work on developing the quality of Ihsaan. Rasulullah (Sallallaahu 'alayhi waSallam) explained the quality of Ihsaan as : “That you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, And if you cannot see Him, then He sees you (anyway).” The understanding and knowledge has to be deeply impressed in the heart and mind : “Wherever I am, my Allah is watching.” My Shaykh, Hazrat Maulana Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar Saheb (Daamat Barakaatuhum) says in poetry : “If you hide and commit sins, Someone is watching from above (Allah Ta’ala)…” A Muslim works towards developing the sifat (attribute) of Ihsaan in all aspects of his life. It is not confined to the different forms of Ibaadah (worship), like Salaah, Fasting, etc.; rather it is a reality which should be found across the spectrum of our lives. Unfortunately, this quality of Ihsaan – this Conscious Awareness of Allah Ta’ala - is something which is lacking in our lives. As such, we very quickly and easily lose sight of Deen and Shariah, we lose sight of that khauf and khashiyat of Allah Ta’ala, or muhabbat and love of Allah Ta’ala. The moment we are occupied in the mundane activities of life, we incline towards negligence. We forget Allah Ta’ala is watching. And this ‘ghaflat’ (negligence) is the stepping stone to spoiling the harmony of life. This ‘ghaflat’ is the HEN which lays the eggs of sins. However, if this attribute is cultivated and nurtured in all aspects of life. ...“That you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, and if you cannot see Him, then He sees you (anyway).” …then this is opening the doors of success in both worlds. The person who has developed within himself the beautiful state of “ihsaan” will lead a very balanced life. …Temptations will come his way, but he will not fall for those temptations. The quality of Ihsaan does not mean that Shaytaan will then leave him (or her) alone. Shaytaan will work harder and will continue to tempt. However, due to this Muslim’s conscious awareness of Allah Ta’ala, he will not fall for the temptations. He will resist them. And in this manner, he will also secure the noor of Taqwa. In this way, he becomes the friend of Allah Ta’ala. “…Verily none are the Auliya (Friends of Allah) except those who refrain from His disobedience…” [surah Al-Anfal 8 : 34] That Conscious Awareness of Allah Ta’ala makes us apply brakes and resist the temptation to sin. If we are faced with temptation, we will move away. Wherever we feel we will be tempted, then we will keep far from such areas. If an invitation to sin is extended to us, we will refuse and reject it. Our dua is, as my Shaykh says, in poetry : ‘(O Allah) wherever I am – whether on earth or in the skies – my Taqwa must always remain safe.’

‘If you want peace, if you want contentment and if you want tranquility, then chalk out this goal in life : Make ONE ALLAH happy. …What a beautiful religion Islam is!’

My respected Shaykh, Hazrat Maulana Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar Saheb (Daamat Barakaatuhum), has mentioned, in his poetry, that our value is dependent on our Nisbat with Madina Munawwarah. When anything is purchased and brought from Madina Munawwarah, then a lover of Nabi (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam) will naturally appreciate and value it – no matter how small or how cheap. Why ? …Because it has a connection with the city of the Beloved (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam). It has been touched by the air of Madina Shareef, or it has been produced from the blessed land of Madina Shareef - and this is what has made it special. The residents of Madina Shareef are the neighbours of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam) and they are the envy of the heavens, because they have such extreme physical closeness to Nabi (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam). They are the envy of all of us as well – for we too desire the honour of being in such proximity to Nabi (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam) at all times. Allah Ta’ala, in His infinite Mercy and Grace, does not want to deprive anyone of us of this blessing of being close to Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam), so He has given us a simple recourse to always being near to our Beloved Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam). This nearness is attained via our nisbat (connection) with the ‘A`maal’ of Madina Munawwarah – i.e. the Sunnah (way of life) of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam). Our value, in the sight of Allah Ta’ala, is dependent on our relationship with His beloved Rasul (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam). Allah Ta’ala has informed us of this in the Qur`aan Shareef : “Say (O Muhammad (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam)) : If you do love Allah, follow me. Allah shall love you and forgive you your sins; And Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.” [surah Aal-Imraan 3 : 31] And my Shaykh has presented the same message in poetry form : The footprints of the Beloved of Allah, Nabi Muhammad (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam), is the road to Jannat; The Sunnats of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam) connect one with Allah Ta’ala . It is a misconception that a person’s repeated performance of Haj and Umrah and repeated visits to Madina Munawwarah is to be taken as the yardstick of piety. The yardstick of piety is not how many Umrahs or Haj, a person has made. The present day scenario is saddening to say the least, since Umrah and Haj have become a holiday, a shopping spree, and a “tour” for the majority. …The deficit is in “sincerity of intention”. As has been said, the visitors are many, but the pilgrims are scarce. For many, these trips are now for business and trade. And for others, each trip is another “feather” in their caps – which must be made known and announced to the world. There are those that boast of their yearly trips, whether for Haj or ‘Umrah, or both, updating us on the number of visits they make to Makkah Mukarramah and Madina Munawwarah. We have heard people say : “I have made Umrah for the past 20 or 30 years and have never missed out one.” …Yet, the reality is that we cannot count our Umrahs and Haj. We cannot say how many have been performed, because we do not know how many have been accepted. Those Umrahs and Haj that are accepted are the only ones that we can count. And we will only come to know of their acceptance on the Day of Judgement. Despite the frequent visits to the Haramayn Sharifayn, there is generally not much improvement in our spirituality. If we have not brought a reformation in our lifestyles : If we have not fulfilled the rights of people, if we have not returned to people that which is their due, if we have not asked forgiveness from those whom we have wronged, if we are not punctual with Salaah, and if our zaahir (external condition) and our baatin (internal condition) does not reflect the purity and spirituality that come with visits to the Haramayn Sharifayn, then we should truly be concerned as to the quality and acceptance of our Haj and Umrah. I have mentioned many times that the “maal” (wealth/material goods) of Madina Munawwarah is not what is available in its market places, bazaars and shopping complexes. Unfortunately, when we visit Madina Munawwarah, then more often than not, the objective is the “maal” of Madina Shareef. The majority of those visiting Madina Munawwarah forget the purpose of their visit once their gazes fall on the commercial centres of Madina Shareef. Many who do know about the material commodities being sold, plan in advance – that there will be an exchange or purchase of gold, there will be this commodity and that commodity bought. …Whilst in Madina Shareef, the talk is the latest technology, the cellphones, the best gold shops, cloak shops, and so forth. The intention and pursuit becomes the “maal” of Madina and not the ‘a`maal’ of Madina Munawwarah. And this is how our stay of 7 or 8 days passes : “mauled by the malls” . Our imaan, our love for Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam), our time, our energy, our money are “mauled” in the obsession we have of shopping. We forget, and sometimes we do not even care to give any kind of attention or express any kind of appreciation to our host, Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam)because we are so caught up in material purchases. Instead of filling up the pockets of our hearts with the wealth of Love for Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam) and with the wealth of his noble characteristics, we fill up suitcases and suitcases – many a time, even purchasing more suitcases – for filling up the material commodities of Madina Shareef. I am not saying that it is Haraam to shop there. It will be meritorious if a person makes purchases with the intention to support the businessmen and traders of Madina Munawwarah. The Hadeeth also makes mention that when we are on a journey, we should make some effort to bring back gifts for our families no matter how small or how cheap – because there is always an expectation from those who remain behind, at home, that the person on a journey will remember his loved ones and bring back something for them – but this should not be misconstrued.Shopping is not meant to be the “be all and end all” – especially of our visit to the Haramayn Sharifayn. The person should purchase a few gift items a day or two before departure. And the gifts that we should be appreciating most are the duas of the Haramayn Sharifayn, Salaam at the Raudha Mubarak, the Zam Zam of Makkah Mukarramah and the Kajur (dates) of Madina Munawwarah. Almost everything else is made in China, Taiwan and Japan and can be purchased anywhere else in the world, including our own country, or city or town. However, the Haramayn Sharifayn offer a different “market” where such spiritual bounties are obtained, which cannot be obtained anywhere else in the world. The true lovers of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam) make this trip to fill their hearts and lives with the ‘A`maal’ of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam) - with his beautiful seerat and soorat, with his kindness, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, generosity, abstinence and the treasure trove that we know of his noble life. The visit should be purely to visit Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam), to make Salaam to our Beloved Nabi (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam), to spend time in his Mubarak city and glean from our visit, those virtues, those qualities that will be the medium of bonding with him and being the means of our own value increasing in the sight of Allah Ta’ala. If all the visitors to Madina Shareef were to return home with the true “maal” and wealth of Madina Shareef – i.e. the akhlaaq (character) and a`maal of Nabi (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam), then the value of the entire Ummah will increase. The Sahabah were the “stars” of mankind – guides and leaders for all nations and people. They had to thus make the great sacrifice of leaving Madina Shareef to spread the religion of Islam. Despite them being distanced from their beloved Madina Shareef, they traveled with the “nisbat” of Madina Shareef. This was the key to their success. Wherever they went, there was progress and success. On the other hand, we put price tags on ourselves by looking at our material possessions. What are material possessions? …Fanaa (annihilation and destruction) will come over them. Let us introspect and consider our value in the light of the nisbat that we have with Madina Shareef. …The reality is that we have discarded our nisbat with Madina Shareef, and as such our value has decreased. Today, the Ummah as a whole is being sold very cheaply in the markets of the kuffaar. This is our own doing and downfall. If we have to re-connect with the way of life, the actions and characteristics of Nabi (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa-Sallam), then most definitely, we will fetch a high price in Allah Ta’ala’s esteem, and we will be successful in both worlds. By Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Saheb (RA)

‘The sooner you connect yourself to Allah Ta’ala and Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi waSallam), the sooner you get on ‘track’, then the first thing Allah Ta’ala blesses you with is peace of mind and satisfaction.’