Abu Hafsat

As-Salaam alaikum, In this matter of Remembering Allah always and/or Tazkiyyatu-Nafs, Dhikr (Zikr) is another name for Purification. As the Zakkat (wealth tax in Islam) purifies the wealth, similarly Zikr purifies man's self. As soap cleanses the piece of cloth, so does Zikr cleans the heart. As fire eats away the fuel, so the Zikr takes away the sins of a man who invokes Allah Ta'ala. As the rain makes the withered grass green and olive so does the zikr to man. What light does to darkness, so does zikr to man... it lightens darkness. So, let us be among the Zakirunallah Kathiraan. Don't you see that when the Qur'an was revealed, it was when Allah says:-- "Read in the Name of your Lord who created" (96:1).... thus the Qur'an was first revealed with the Name of Allah, that is, invocation of Allah. Even at the time of death, one should invoke Allah: La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad-ur-Rasulullah... all this is Zikrullah. In the grave too, the angels inquire about Name of Allah...... Jallah-Jalalahu.

As-Salaam alaikum, In his book titled 'Ameer-ul-Kaunain (The Master of Worlds)', Sayyadi Sultan Bahoo, reminded us that Imaan (faith) lies between fear and hope. How do we mean? The Sheikh explains that "fear means that one should keep his attention towards the Doomsday, rather, view it before him with open eyes, and should separate himself from lustful wishes of the nafs. You will understand this if you recall ayat 40/41 of Sura Nazi'aat of the Holy Qur'an:-- "He who prevented his nafs from lustful wishes. Then indeed, Heaven will be (his) abode." (79:40-41) So, it is evident that only those will enter the Heaven (Paradise) who have the right faith."

As-Salaam alaikum, In ayat 112 of Surat Baqra of the Holy Qur'an, we read it that:-- "Whoever surrenders his whole attention to Allah while doing good, his reward is with his Lord. And for them there will be no fear nor will they grieve". (2:112) Islam means surrender. Sufism or Tasawwuf is the way to surrender knowingly, willingly and lovingly in every action. Surrender is an an on-going practice. Just as there is no end to Allah's infinite grandeur, there can be no limit to our willingness to yield to our Maker.

As-Salaam alaikum, The Noble Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said:-- "Whoever visits me without any intended purpose other than my visit, it is incumbent upon me to be his intercessor on the Day of Rising." (Tabarani No. 13149, Ibn Muqri in his Mu'jam Pg. 80 No. 158). And he, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, was also reported as saying:-- "Whoever [makes pilgrimage then] visits me after my death, it is as if he visited me during my [earthly] life." (Bayhaqi in his Sunan No. 10409).

As-Salaam alaikum, In a Hadith-Qudsi (sacred report), we have it where Allah Ta'ala says:- "Allah created Adam in His image (Khalaqa Allahu Adam Ala suratiHi)", narrated from Abu Hurayrah by both Bukhari & Muslim. The word image (sura) here refers to man's attributes, such as hearing, seeing, knowledge and so on. Hence, Adam was created possessing attributes by which Allah has also attributed to Himself with the difference being that those of Adam are contingent and relative, while the attributes of Allah are eternal and absolute. As we are aware, man in his creation, is also endowed with a heart in his body. This organ, the heart, is not simply the organ of emotions, feelings, desires, decisions or opinions, but also entails the soul, knowledge, bravery and more. As the seat of all cognitive activities, the heart is seen as the true essence of a human being, containing all levels of his inner being... and for the Prophets it is the place of Revelation itself. In view of this, we should strive to keep our hearts free, at peace and stable to always witness Allah, the Creator. Allah Ta'ala says, in Surat Ra'ad of the Qur'an:-- "Verily, in the Remembrance of Allah hearts do find their rest." (13:28) The Remembrance of Allah... Zikrullah, moisten the heart and cultivates tenderness in it. When the heart is bereft of Zikrullah, the heat of the nafs overtakes it, the fire of lust reaches it, the heart becomes barren and hard, and all the limbs refrain from obedience to Allah, Subhanahu WA Ta'ala.

As-Salaam alaikum, "O you who believe! Remember Allah! Continue to mention Him without limit, before sunrise and before sunset. He is the One Who encourages, appreciates and supports you all, and replaces darkness and tyranny with Divine Light." (33:41/43)- Surat Ahzab. So, we have to remember our Lord/Creator as much as we can.. Praise Him before and after work (before sunrise & sunset). Today, who remembers Allah when leaving or entering their house? Some do but not many, that is why it is said that everything is perishable except Zikrullah, which goes with you to Paradise. Zikrullah is necessary for us, because it will throw away ghaflah or heedlessness from us. Whenever we forget to remember Him, Jallah-Jalalahu, then we are heedless. It is said that when we have to guard or be careful of the moment of heedlessness, as in that moment Shaytan will come. You will be an easy target for Shaytan when one is in a state of ghaflah. Zikr is the Key for happiness, the Light of Souls and our backbone in the journey on the Way to Allah, Subhanahu WA Ta'ala.

As-Salaam alaikum, Anas reported that the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, prayed: "O Allah, keep me poor in this life and let me die poor." When A'isha, may Allah be pleased with her, asked the reason for this prayer, the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said: -- "The poor will take 40 year march over others in getting into Paradise. O A'isha, Let no destitute go disappointed from your door; give him something even if it be a date, love the poor and let him come near to you, for then Allah will let you come near to Himself." (Tirmidhi, Baihaqi) Note this Hadith and emulate its teaching(s) accordingly. Best Regards.

As-Salaam alaikum, Abu Fayd Thawban Ibn Ibrahim Dhu'l Nun al-Misri, may Allah be Merciful to him, was asked about love. He responded:-- "It is to love that which Allah loves, to hate that which Allah hates, to perform all good, to reject anything that busies you from Allah, and not to fear any blame for the sake of Allah, while being gentle with believers, stern with disbelievers, and to follow the Messenger of Allah in matters of religion." ( Abu Nu'aym in Hilyatul-Awliya, 9/394)

As-Salaam alaikum, The Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said:-- "This world is the prison of the believers and the paradise of the unbelievers." (Muslim, Zuhd 3: Tirmidhi, Zuhd 16) Just as penalties of those perpetrating small crimes are delivered locally and serious crimes are sent to the High Courts, so do small errors of believers and close Awliya are punished swiftly and in part in this world, so as to purify them. But the crimes of the people of misguidance are so great, they are referred to the Supreme Tribunal in the eternal realm; mostly they do not receive any punishment here. Thus in the above Hadith, because the believer receives partial punishment for his faults in this world, it is a dungeon for him, relative to his happiness in the Hereafter. And since the unbelievers will be in Hell and they in part receive their rewards for good works in this world and their large sins are postponed, this world is their paradise relative to their life in the Hereafter. For in reality and in meaning, the believer is also happier in this world than the Kafir, because a believer's faith is simply like a Paradise in his spirit; while the unbeliever's unbelief (kufr) sets a fire.. sort of Hell..in his being.

As-Salaam alaikum, Being the nearest to the Absolute, Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, is the nearest created being to absolute perfection. This is why the outpouring of Divine Mercy from Allah Ta'ala toward creation is concentrated on him and radiates from him to pervade all the degrees of existence. And this is what is meant by the expression Sallallahu alaihi, translated as 'may Allah's blessings be upon him'. As for Wa-Sallam, which means 'and peace be upon him' it is the ability to receive this influx of Divine Lights and yet remain firm and serene.

As-Salaam alaikum, Ayat 58 of chapter 36 of the Holy Qur'an, Surat Ya-Sin, reads:-- "Salamun, Qawlan min Rabbun Raheem.. Peace!- a word (of salutation) from a Lord Most Merciful!" This will be said to the companions of the Garden of Bliss (Jannah). On this, Imam An-Nasaa'i mentioned a hadith Qudsi:-- "In the Hereafter, the Almighty Allah will say to the Angels 'Where are My faithful worshippers, those who had firm conviction in the unseen?' then, they (the pious) will come forward, their faces are bright like the full moon, they will ride horses of light, adorned with jewels. They will fly over the heads of others until they stand by the Divine Throne. Then Allah will say to them: 'Peace [Salaam] upon My faithful believers. Verily I have chosen you and provided you, enter Paradise without judgement [Hisab] there is no grief nor fear upon you today, then they will cross the Siraat bridge like a lightning while others are standing, terrified and waiting trial."

As-Salaam alaikum, After the obligatory prayers, Tahajjud ( the voluntary night prayers of 2, 4, 6 or 8 raka'a) is the best prayer to come closer to Allah Ta'ala and, thereby, improve our spiritual health. And the best time to pray Tahajjud is at the last part of the night. The blessings of this prayer is pretty self-explanatory from these 2 hadith, in which the Noble Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said:-- "The closest that a slave comes to his Lord is during the middle of the latter portion of the night. If you can be among those remember Allah, the Exalted one, at that time, then do so." (Tirmidhi) "Observe the night prayer; it was the practice of the righteous before you, and it brings you closer to your Lord, and it is penance for evil deeds and erases the sins and repels disease from the body." (Tirmidhi)

As-Salaam alaikum, On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, it was reported that the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, asked: "Do you know who the bankrupt person is"? They said, 'A bankrupt man amongst us is one who has neither dirham with him nor wealth.' He said: "The bankrupt person of my Nation would be he who comes on the Day of Resurrection with prayers and fasts and zakat but he hurled abuses upon this person, brought calumny against that person, unlawfully consumed the wealth of that person, shed the blood of that person, and beat that person. So his good deeds would be credited to the deeds of those people [ by way of retaliation ] and if his good deeds fall short to clear the account, their sins would be added to his and he would be thrown in the Fire." (Muslim No. 2581/6579) Be mindful, do not be bankrupt!!

As-Salaam alaikum, Narrated by Ahmad (23804), Abu Dawud (3111) and al-Nasaa'i (1846) from Jabir Ibn 'Ateek, may Allah be pleased with him, the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, once asked some of his companions:-- "What do you regard as martyrdom?" The companions said: "Being killed for the sake of Allah." The Prophet then said to them:-- "Shahada [martyrdom] is 7 things besides being killed for the sake of Allah. The one who dies of the plague is a martyr, the one who drowns is a martyr, the one who dies of pleurisy is a martyr, the one who dies of a stomach disease is a martyr, the one who is burned to death is a martyr, the one who dies beneath a collapsed building is a martyr, and the woman who dies in pregnancy is a martyr."

As-Salaam alaikum, In ayat 22 of Surat Zumar of the Holy Qur'an, Allah Ta'ala says:-- "Is one whose heart Allah has opened to Islam, so that he has received Enlightenment from Allah, (no better than one hard-hearted)? Woe to those whose hearts are hardened against celebrating the Praises of Allah! They are manifestly wandering (in error)!" (39:22) The Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alihi Wasallam, was asked about sharh as-Sadr and he said: "It is a light cast into the heart by which the chest is opened and expanded." He was asked: "Is there a way of recognizing one who posses that light?" He, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, responded: "Yes, [such people can be recognized by their] indifference the abode of delusions [ie the life of this world], their constant turning towards the abode of Eternity [the hereafter], and preparation for death before it arrives." He was asked: "How does one prepare for death"? He, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said: "Those of you who remember it the most are the best prepared for it." Source: 'Risalat Sharh as-Sadr', by Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali.

As-Salaam alaikum, Yes, Indeed...Zikrullah is a wide act... involving remembrance, invocation, memory, praise, recitation.. to always keep the heart engaged in the memory of Allah through the invocation of one of His Divine Names, a Qur'anic Verse, Istighfar, Salaat ala' Nabiy etc When performed with mindfulness, Zikrullah makes our heart to become receptive to the activity of the tongue and become awakened with Allah's Presence, as stated in a well-known Hadith:-- "My earth and My heavens do not embrace Me but the heart of My believing servant embraces Me." (quoted by al-Ghazali in his Ihya Ulum Din)... '''embrace Me'' here refers to the knowledge of Allah Ta'ala...

As-Salaam alaikum, In the Hadith, we learnt that the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said to one of his wives, Sayyada A'isha, may Allah be pleased with her:-- "He who will be judged will be punished for sure" (Sahih Bukhari) If on the Day of Judgement one is made to give account, he will be punished. So, in our prayers to Allah Ta'ala, we should include praying to be admitted to Jannah...Paradise with no account. Only the anbiya are ma'asum...free from sin, no one else. So the Prophet said to her to ask not to be taken to account at all, as if we are to account we will be in a problem. Everyone, young and old, have problems. Let us surrender our affairs to our Lord and He will take care of us... Tabaraka Wa Ta'ala.

As-Salaam alaikum, The Noble Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said:-- "He who humbles himself before Allah, Allah elevates [in degree]." To he who increases himself in humility and abasement, Allah Ta'ala grants high station. In this regards, permit me to share with you the following wonderful Hadith in which Sayyadi Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, related that the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam: "used to feed his camel, sweep [his] house, mend [his] sandals, patch his clothes, milk [his sheep, eat with his servant and help him grind, when he [the servant] got tired. He was not embarrassed to carry his goods from the bazaar to his family. He would shake hands with both the rich and the poor; he was the first to greet people; he would not scorn any meal of which he was invited to partake; even if this was unripe and dry dates. He made do with free supplies [of provision]; he was gentle of character, generous of nature, pleasant of company; his face was cheerful, he smiled much, without laughing and showed [his] sadness without frowning; he was humble without being self-effacing; generous without being extravagant; his heart was gentle, he was compassionate to every Muslim; he would never eat his fill and he would never stretch his hand to a thing he desired."... Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam!!! Culled from: Abu'l- Qasim al-Qushayri's 'Epistle On Sufism'.

As-Salaam alaikum, As observed by Sayyadi Muhyi al-Deen Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn al-Arabi (d. 1240), may Allah be Merciful to him, in his famous Futuhat al- Makkiyya, when Allah Ta'ala created "your body, He placed within it a Ka'aba, which is your heart. He made this temple of the heart the noblest of houses in the person of faith (mu'min). He informed us that the Heavens, in which there is the Frequented House (al-bayt al-ma'mur), and the earth, in which there is the [physical] Ka'aba, do not encompass Him and are too confined for Him, but He is encompassed by this heart in the constitution of the believing human. What is meant here by 'encompassing' is knowledge of God." Here, Ibn Arabi is of course referring to the famous hadith qudsi, the words of God upon the tongue of the Prophet Muhammad, which he often quotes: 'Neither My heavens nor My earth encompass Me- but the heart of My believing servant does encompass Me.' This indicates some of the most essential teaching(s) on the nature of the heart: that nothing in the external world-- high or low- can contain True Divinity, that is to say, nothing which we can experience through our senses (which is the earth), and nothing which we can imagine in our minds, however lofty, elevated and glorious (which is heaven) can begin to measure up to that which is unlimited Reality, Being itself. God is only known (and loved) within, in the heart of the one who has faith (imaan)..

As-Salaam alaikum, "Pretension without reality is hypocrisy, and reality without pretension is sincerity, because he who is grounded in eloquence needs no tongue to communicate with his Lord. Expressions only serve to inform another than Allah, for Allah Himself requires no explanation of our circumstances, and others than Allah are not worth so much that we should occupy ourselves with them."- Sheikh Ali Ibn Usman al-Hujwuri

As-Salaam alaikum, "The Qur'an is like a friend... the longer the friendship lasts, the more you will know of its secrets; as a friend doesn't reveal his secrets to someone who sits with him for a few minutes and then leaves."-- Muhammad al-Awaji.

As-Salaam alaikum, It is my pleasure to share with you the following pearls and/or reminders, to guide us as we go through everyday life on the planet earth.... before death comes:-- (1) "The Zikr [remembrance] of Allah moistens the heart and cultivates tenderness in it. When the heart is bereft of Zikrullah, the heat of the nafs overtakes it; the fire of lust reaches it and it becomes barren and hard." - Sheikh Abu Abdullah at-Tirmidhi Hakeem. (2) "Body is purified by water. Ego by tears. Intellect is purified by knowledge, and soul is purified with love."- Sayyadi Ali Ibn Abi Talib (R.A) (3) "The truth of faith (Imaan) does not reach a man who does not possess 4 qualities:-- a) Performance of compulsory duties along with Sunnat b) Carefulness in eating [eat only Halal and avoid Haram] c) Giving up the prohibited things openly and secretly. d) Observing those rules with patience until death."- Sayyadi Sahl Ibn Abdullah Tustari (4) "Fear is like a candle whose flame helps a person distinguish good from evil, and fear of Allah allows a person to turn away from evil. Those who fear mere creatures flee from them; but those who fear Allah flee to Him."- Rabiya Basri.

As-Salaam alaikum, The Noble Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said:-- "Man should call upon Allah alone to provide for all his needs, so much so that even if a shoe-lace is broken, he should pray to Allah to provide a shoe-lace, and if he needs salt, he should beseech Allah to send it to him." [Tirmidhi].

As-Salaam alaikum, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, quotes the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, as having said:-- "There is none whose final abode is not known to Allah from beforehand-- whether it is going to be Hell or Heaven." The audience said, "Should we not then hang on to the scroll of destiny and suspend action?". The Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, stated: "No, do your part for what is pre-ordained for one has been made easy for him. If he is fortunate, the path of goodness has been smoothened for him but if he is doomed, evil deeds are equally facile to him." He then recited the ayat, "But as for him who gives (in charity) and fears (Allah), and accepts whatever is good, We surely will smoothen the path of happiness." [Bukhari and Muslim].

As-Salaam alaikum, Reciting Surat Ikhlas (chapter 112 of the Holy Qur'an) is compared to complete recitation of one-third of the entire Qur'an. Reciting it is a means of blessings for the reciter. Note that Allah Ta'ala sent the Qur'an in 3 parts, namely:-- (1) A third of it is comprised of Legal Rulings. (2) A third comprises of exhortations of Promises and Warnings. (3) A third comprises of Discussing Allah's Names and Attributes... and Surat Ikhlas brings together within it those Noble Names and Attributes. The Surat mentions 2 Names of Allah which together indicate all the Attributes of Perfection. They are not mentioned in any other ayat/verse: ''al-Ahad'' and ''al-Samad''. These 2 names indicate the Oneness of the Sacred Being who possesses all the attributes of perfection. Allah is Ahad-- His Singularity of Existence cannot be shared by another entity. Allah is Samad-- His Dignity and Sovereignty reaches the extent where all other things in Existence depend on for all their needs... Allahu Tabaraka Wa Ta'ala...