Abu Hafsat

As-Salaam alaikum, Al-Tabarani related on the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, saying : "The Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said : 'whoever sends upon me one prayer, Allah will reciprocate it by sending 10 prayers upon him. Whoever sends me 10 prayers, Allah will send 100 prayers upon him. Whoever sends prayers upon me 100 times, Allah will bestow upon him relief from hypocrisy and hellfire, and grant him the companionship of the martyrs on the Day of Judgement. " This is indeed a great affair! Relief from hypocrisy reflects completeness in faith, and relief from Hell fire reflects an individual's refraining from disobedience. Companionship of the martyrs in Paradise reflects the attainment of Allah's immense satisfaction (ridwan-al-akbar) with them.

As-Salaam alaikum, Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, reported :- "When a deceased starts to experience the intensity (of death), do not force him to read the Kalima, but give him Talqeen (ie read the Kalima of La ilaha illallah and let him hear you and this will remind him/her of it), because no munafiq (hypocrite) has died on this Kalima. " Source: 'The Sharhus Sudoor', by Imam Jalaluddin Suyuti.

As-Salaam alaikum, In chapter 29 of the Holy Qur'an, Surat Ankabut, Allah Ta'ala says :- "As for those who strive in Us, We shall guide them to Our Paths" (29:69) Explaining this ayat, Imam Ibn al- Qayyim said that "the most compulsory form of Jihad is Jihad against the ego (nafs), against unbridled passions (hawa), against the devil (shaytan) and against being worldly (dunya). Those who wage Jihad against these 4, in obedience to Allah, shall be guided by Allah to the path of His good pleasure which (in turn) will lead to His Paradise. Those who neglect Jihad will be veiled from guidance to the degree they forsake Jihad ". So, let us strive to overcome temptations, casual desires and/or the devil's whisperings. May we be blessed with Taufiq to internalize Islamic teachings through acts of worship and devotion such as prayer/Sallat, fasting, Zikr, alms giving etc.. See Ibn Qayyim's 'Al-Fawa' I d' and 'Zadil Ma' ad' for further reading.

As-Salaam alaikum, The second verse/ayat of chapter 112 of the Holy Qur'an, Surat Ikhlas, reads : 'Allahu Samad'.. If Allah is Samad, then we are the Samadiyya of Allah. The Samadiyya of Allah refers to 2 aspects, namely : (1) His absolute Independence from all things and (2) The absolute dependence of all things on Him. Therefore when you lift up that glass/cup to drink water, it is only by and through the Mercy of Allah (as Rahman and Rahim) that your thirst can be quenched... this is the reality of things and the wisdom of our reciting the Basmala when eating, drinking, etc. The way we understand and believe affects the way we behave and act. Does water remove thirst? Does the fire have the power to burn or not? When Prophet Ibrahim, alaihis-Salaat Was-Salaam, was placed into the fire by his enemies, what happened? It became 'Bardan wa salaaman', a place of security and tranquility... because Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, creates, controls and gives effect every single second to every single creation, at any time He wishes. When we, as slaves of the Creator, say 'Bismillahi Rahmani Raheem', we affirm the reality of things.. ie that it is only by and through the Mercy of Allah, do things happen/occur, including quenching your thirst with a cup of cold water. And by our affirming this with faith in our reciting the 'Basmala, Allah then sends His blessings (Baraka) upon the acts we do.

As-Salaam alaikum, In chapter 15 of the Holy Qur'an, Allah Ta'ala says :- "And serve your Lord till the inevitable (death) comes unto you" (15:99) Thus our commitment to submit to Allah should not be a fad, a temporary emotional reaction, we should not waver despite all the highs and lows of life. The goal is to reach the end of our life in a state of total submission to our Creator. Best Wishes.

As-Salaam alaikum, The Sunnah of the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, regarding speech is based on the following hadith- Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said :- "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him say what is good or remain silent" (Bukhari). The default of one's speech is that one remains silent and does not speak unless one is sure that his speech will be good. If one is unsure of it will be good or bad, then one remains silent. So the Sunnah is that one remains silent until one is sure. Some of the sins related to one's tongue are : ghiba (backbiting), namima (gossiping), suna (showing off), royal with speech, kaziba (lying), iftikhar (boasting to others, making claims).. We should keep this in mind and note accordingly.

As-Salaam alaikum, One day Sultan Mahmud al-Ghazali visited Abu'l - Hasan and asked his opinion of Abu Yazid al-Bistami. He said, "Whoever follows Abu Yazid is going to be guided. And whoever saw him and felt love towards him in his heart will reach a happy ending". At that, Sultan Mahmud said, "How is that possible, when Abu Jahl saw the Prophet and he was unable to reach a happy ending but rather ended up in misery?" He answered, "It is because Abu Jahl did not see the Prophet but he saw Muhammad bin Abdullah. And if he saw the Messenger of Allah, he would have been taken out of misery into happiness. As Allah Ta'ala said, " You see them looking at you but without clear vision" (7:198)...adding that "vision with the eyes of the head doesn't bring happiness, but the vision with the eyes of the heart and the secret that Allah gives to the soul will bring out that happiness."

As-Salaam alaikum, In the Hadith, the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said : "QALB AL-MU'MIN BAYT AR-RABB.. The heart of the believer is the House of the Lord." And in a Hadith-Qudsi, Allah Ta'ala says : "NEITHER EARTH NOR HEAVENS CONTAINED ME, BUT THE HEART OF THE BELIEVER CONTAINED ME." This is when the believer's heart is free of any impurities and all that is other than Allah Ta'ala.. the heart becomes Allah's Mansion.. Allah's House when it becomes a place of His Self manifestation, a place to Contemplate Him and keep His secret, the right place to receive the responsibility of Allah's Trust, as the means to know Allah with Allah, as He says in the Holy tradition (hadith qudsi) :- "I have built inside the heart of the son of Adam, a palace, in the chest there is a heart (QALB), in the heart, there is the inner heart (fu'ad), and in the inner heart there is an innermost heart (shaghaf), and in the shaghaf, there is the kernel (lubb), and in the kernel there is secret (sirr), in the sirr/secret, there is Me, that is the Secret refers to the place for My manifestation and the place to know Me. " We get to understand this more, when we recall another Hadith-Qudsi where Allah Ta'ala says: " Man is My secret and I am his secret "... meaning that Allah Ta'ala placed His secret or illuminative knowledge (ma'arifah) in man - with which man hears and sees Allah in all he does, nay, he exists only by Allah's Existence.

As-Salaam alaikum, In chapter 53 of 'Futuhat-Makkiyah', Sayyadi Ibn Arabi transcribes the external states one should impose to oneself prior the path of Divine, and they are, hunger (ju), vigilance (Sahar), silence (samt) and seclusion (uzla). These are all cautionary advice regarding body asceticism, to lighten and purify the journeying spirit. The phenomenon of hunger, vigilance, silence and seclusion decorates the body of the performer to the status of utter servant hood. The body seeks poverty in the beautiful presence of God. Does not God desire absolute surrender from His servant? The seeking body is transformed by a reality of trust and patience, waiting in a most respected manner befitted to the servant when confronted by the Majesty of Allah. Sufi Sheikh Abu Yazid al-Bistami when asked, "How did you find Wisdom"? his reply was a quiet insight : "By hunger and poverty". The nightly vigilance to keep oneself in hunger enhances the spirit to yearn of becoming the perfect servant of Allah. The one who is performing hunger, vigilance, silence and seclusion discards earthly values and seeks valuables that are not of this earth, which is the deepest presence that is the Face of Allah. "WHEREVER YOU TURN, THERE IS THE FACE (Reality) OF ALLAH." (2:115) This is the true objective of arkan al-ma'arifa (spiritual knowledge) of Ibn Arabi's Sufi metaphysics.

As-Salaam alaikum, The Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said : "Time has now come full circle as it was the moment Allah created the heavens and earth." (Bukhari and others). From this, we can understand that Prophethood is a circle, or a ring of connected points, each point representing a Prophet, and that point which gathers and seals both arcs of the Circle represents Muhammad, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam. From the viewpoint of his unique status of being that gathering point, the Noble Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said : "I am the Leader of the childeren of Adam, and this is without boasting" (Tirmidhi, Muslim and Abu Dawud). And if we view each point of the circle in itself, we see that each of them can be a connecting point, giving some sense of equality. Here, you may quote the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, where he said : "It is not fit to elevate me above my brother Yunus ibn Matta" (Bukhari, Tabarani, Ibn Majah). And in the Qur'an (2:285) we read it: "We do not discriminate between any of His Messengers.." because discrimination is a hole in the completeness of the circle of Prophethood.

A respected Teacher once observed that the "tongue is the key to the heart. The more the tongue moves in uttering the remembrance (Zikr) of Allah, the more the heart opens up and the more that precious things appear within it. It is as if the remembrance of Allah is the east wind bringing news of the Beloved. It delights the earth of the dead body by filling it with gardens and orchards. Water flows before the door of every house of the body, and blossoms pour down in the meadow of each organ and part. " After Baha Walad (d. 1230), from his 'Gnostic Sciences' (Ma'arif).

As-Salaam alaikum, It has been related by al-Tabaraani on the authority of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said that the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said : "Five are among the the supplications which are answered." He then mentioned them : "The supplication of a Muslim for his fellow brother who is absent, that of the just Imam, the supplication of the oppressed, the supplication of the traveller and a man who supplicates for his two parents".

As-Salaam alaikum, Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, reported : Allah's Messenger, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said : "THERE ARE 2 STATEMENTS THAT ARE LIGHT ON THE TONGUE TO REMEMBER (recite), HEAVY IN THE SCALE AND ARE DEAR TO THE MERCIFUL : 'SUBHANALLAHI WA BIHAMDIHI, SUBHANALLAH IL-AZEEM (Glory be to Allah and His is the Praise, and Allah, the Greatest is free from imperfection) " /Bukhari and Muslim. This hadith affirms that man's actions carry weight, and on the Day of Judgement his actions will be cast into the Balance. At that time Allah endow these actions with weight, or records which register man's actions will be weighed. This is quite possible for the reason that Almighty Allah is capable of weighing things, without even their physical form. When actions will be cast into the Balance, the formula mentioned in the above hadith, the utterance of which is very easy, will prove weighty. Every Muslim should make it a practice to repeat them frequently. Best Wishes.

As-Salaam alaikum, It has been related by at-Turmidhi from a Prophetic tradition transmitted by Abu Amama, may Allah be pleased with him, wherein the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam said : "My Lord showed me that He could transform for me the entire riverbed of Makkah into gold. I said: 'No O Lord, rather I prefer to be full one day and hungry the next. So that when I am hungry I will beseech You, and when I am full, I will thank You." The reason for his lack of sedation most of the time with food and drink was because of the few things he possessed voluntarily, in that they were available, but he preferred others over himself and expended them on others in order to achieve the pleasure of his Lord.

As-Salaam alaikum, Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said : "The Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, would often say 'Ya muqallaba-l-qulubi thabbit qalbi ala' dinik (O changer of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion) ' So I asked :' O Messenger of Allah, we believe in you and what you have come with, but do you fear for us? ' He replied,' Yes: Indeed the hearts are in between the 2 Fingers of Allah's Fingers. He changes them as He wills. "(Tirmidhi 3522) Related to this is the hadith in Sunan Ahmad whereby the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said : " Shaytan comes to one of you and says: 'who created you?' He replies : 'Allah'. Then Shaytan says: 'who created Allah?' If that happens to anyone of you, let him say 'Amantu bi-llahi wa Rasulih' - - I believe in Allah and His Messengers. ' Indeed it will go away from him "(Ahmad, 25671).

As-Salaam alaikum, A man asked the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, "O Messenger of Allah! What is Imaan?" He replied, "When your good deeds please you and your evil deeds grieve you, then you are a believer." The man asked, "O Messenger of Allah, then what is sin?" Nabiy, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, replied, "When something causes a doubt in your heart, leave it out." (Musnad Ahmad, No. 22166). The expression of joy and sorrow over our good and bad actions respectively are signs of faith (Imaan). So, let us allow our outward expression of feelings be the signal of existence of Imaan within us... and expressing sorrow over sin refers to feeling really guilty and sincerely repenting.

As-Salaam alaikum, Verse/ayat 26 of chapter 10 of the Holy Qur'an reads:-- "Lillazina ahsanu-l-husna, Wa ziyadat.. For those who do good is the best (reward) and an addition." (10:26) The authentic hadith mention (Muslim No. 181-449 and Ibn Majah No. 187) that the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said : "When the people of Paradise enter paradise a caller will announce, 'People of Paradise, Allah has given you a promise which He wishes to fulfil.' They will say, 'What is that? Has He not made our faces white? Has He not made our scales heavy? Has He not granted us entry into Paradise and saved us from the Fire?' So He will remove the veil and they will look on at Him and by Allah, He will not have granted them anything more blessed to them than this, and there will be nothing that gives more pleasure to their eyes than this! This is the addition. " The he, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, recited the above quoted ayat.

As-Salaam alaikum, May I have the pleasure of advising/reminding you/us to be reciting the Holy Qur'an more regularly. This is for the fact that for the person who reads/recites the Qur'an and listens to it from others, it is a cure. Thus such a reciter becomes rich without wealth, becomes honored without relatives and finds solace where others have anxiety. Let us be among those whose concern, when they begin reciting a Surah of the Holy Qur'an is, 'When will I be admonished by what I recite'? Your objective should not be 'When will I complete the Surah'? Rather your objective should be 'when will I understand from Allah Ta'ala, His address? When will I restrain myself? When will I learn a lesson?'.. This is because the recitation of the Holy Qur'an is an act of worship, and thus cannot be done with heedlessnes. Best Wishes.

As-Salaam alaikum, When Allah Ta'ala blew the spirit into Adam, alaihi Salaam, he came to life and awareness. This specific spirit, which Allah ascribed to Himself by calling it "My spirit" (15:29, 38:72-Qur'an) was given many names, such as the Ascribed Spirit, the Muhammadan Spirit and the First Intellect. The Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, alluded to it with his words: "I was a Prophet when Adam was between water and clay." Thus the Muhammadan Spirit or the First Intellect was understood as the prototype for all of creation, not least the moral and spiritual perfections that came to be embodied in the 124,000 Prophets. As embodied in the Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, the Spirit provided the guidance that came to be known as the Sunnah, with its twin components of Shari'a and Tariqa. Together these 2 components make up the Straight Path, the aim of which is to re-awaken the spirit in every human being/individual. The final goal of both Shari'a and Tariqa was often called the Haqiqa, the Reality, that is, the Supreme Reality that blew the Spirit into man in the first place.

As-Salaam alaikum, The Noble Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said : "Indeed good manners, pious ways and adopting moderation are a portion from the 25 portions of Nubuwwah (Prophethood)." /Abu Dawud No. 4776. Scholars are of the view that this Hadith indicates that these 3 praiseworthy traits form a great portion of the excellent traits with which the Ambiyaa, alaihi mu-s-Salaam, were blessed. We should therefore try to instil these qualities in ourselves, to emulate Allah's most beloved of all His creation.. the Ambiyaa'.

As-Salaam alaikum, The four phrases : Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Laa ilaha illallah, Allahu Akbar and the hawlaqa: La hawla wa la quwata illa Billah, together encompass Tawheed (worshipping Allah alone) and qadar (pre-decree). Ibn Abi Awfaa said, a man came to the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, and said : "I cannot learn the Qur'an, so teach me something that will suffice me. He said, (recite) Subhanallah, wal hamdulillah, wa Laa ilaha illallah, Wallahu Akbar, wa la hawla walaa quwata illa Billah.." (Abu Dawud 832, Nisa'i 2/143). Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, reported :" Shall I inform you of a phrase which is under the Throne and from amongst the treasures of Paradise? Say, 'La hawla walaquwata illa billah' Allah will say, 'My servant has submitted himself in intention, action and worship (as lama was-taslama). /Hakim, Arabi, Fath al Baari 11/501. A servant does not control any of his affairs, he does not have the means to repel harm or the ability to attain goodness except by Allah's Will. A servant cannot change disobedience of obedience, sickness to health, weakness to strength, deficiency to perfection except by Allah's Help. What Allah wills happens and what He does not will won't happen. The affairs of the creation are tied to His Decree and Pre-Destination. Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!! Wa Lillahil Hamd!!!

As-Salaam alaikum, In Sunan Tirmidhi is the Noble Hadith where the Noble Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, is asked: "Where was Allah before the creation of the universe"? He replied : "He was in the 'Ama." It goes on to say that it had no aboveness or belowness. In other words it was a primordial non-spatiality in non-time. Sayyadi Ali, may Allah ennoble his face, was asked the same question and after a long silence he said : " To ask where was Allah is to ask of a place. Now Allah was- but there was no space. Then He created time/space and He is now as He was before time/space." From this, we note that 'Ama is incomprehensible.

As-Salaam alaikum, As recorded in Abu Nu' aim's 'Hilyat al-Awliya', Hammad ibn Salaam reported that on the authority of Talqa ibn Habib, Sayyadi Abdullahi ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said : - The Noble Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said : "Four matters are such that whoever is given them is given the good of this world and the Hereafter : a grateful heart, a tongue busy with remembrance of Allah (Zikr), a body patient with trial and faith in that which Allah has guaranteed."

As-Salaam alaikum, Sayyadi Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported : "Remember death frequently as it wipes away sins and it gives contentment in the world and if you remember it in a wealthy state, then this will finish it (love for wealth). And if you remember it in your state of dependency then it will cause you to become pleased with your life ". Some pious personalities mentioned that the one who remembers death frequently, will be awarded 3 things : He will be Blessed with Divine Guidance of repenting swiftly, will have contentment in his heart, and he will find pleasure in Ibaadat (worshipping Allah). Also, they mentioned that the one who does not remember death will be gripped by 3 calamities: He will delay in making Tauba (repentance), will be impatient (ie never content) and he will be lazy in Ibaadat. For further reading on this, See "Shardus-Sudoor (Expanding The Chest in analysing condition of the dead and the Grave)", by Jalaluddin Suyuti.

As-Salaam alaikum, In verse/ayat 8 of Surat Tahreem of the Holy Qur'an, it is stated :- "O you who believe, truly turn to Allah with sincere repentance (taubatun nasooha) : in the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills.." (66:8) What is sincere Repentance? Sayyadi Abdullah Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said that sincere repentance means that a person's heart is ashamed, his tongue seeks forgiveness and he resolves never to repeat the sin he or she committed. And a certain wiseman has mentioned that Allah's acceptance of Tauba (Repentance) can be recognized by 4 signs as follows :- (1) A person guards his tongue from futile talk, lying and backbiting. (2) He habours no jealousy or enmity for anyone (3) He forsakes evil company and (4) He prepares for death, is always remorseful, always repenting and always obedient to Allah's Orders. May Allah Ta'ala help us with Tabatun Nasooha, ameen.