Get Close to Allah Azzawajal

[Umm Khadeejah]

Aoudhubillahi minash shaitaan nirrajeem

Bismillahirrahmanirraheem

 

Make Intention

People are often deprived of blessings of dhikr because they do not intent advancement and blessings from it. For example, Quran says Salah is effective in preventing sins. But we do not intent to pray to save us from sins. Start praying with this intention, you will see the effect. We have decided to pray and also to commit sins. Perform Salah with the intention to save you from sins by its blessings. You will see the effect. Allah SWT is truthful in His words, offering Salah properly will eliminate sins from our lives. Salah and sins cannot exist together just like fire and water. This requires you to pray with this intention. We do not abandon Salah because we know well we will fall into trouble. Our faith is weak and we do not abstain from sins thinking how we can do business, run a family and live in this world without lies. We have anticipated that the sins will save us from problems. We think the problems will erupt if we stop lying. Allah SWT is saying, “Give up sins and you will be saved from all problems”. Glory to Allah SWT. Isn’t Allah SWT the most truthful? Our thinking is contrary to Allah’s saying. Allah SWT is not just saying your problems will be eased but you will be delivered from the problems. Similarly, people are often deprived of blessings of dhikr because they do not intent advancement and blessings from it. Dhikr is done customarily.

 

A pious elder said, “A Muslim does not do a righteous deed with a bad intention but he just does not intent”. You will definitely benefit if you do dhikr or recite Quran intending to acquire its benefits, blessings and radiance. Make ablution contemplating on the Prophet’s SAW words, “Ablution washes away the outer and inner sins”. See how you get the noor (radiance). See the difference against performing ablution, Salah and leaving the masjid heedlessly without contemplating on their benefits and blessings. The love of Allah SWT is not attained from the righteous deeds if His love is not intended. Customarily doing the deeds won’t fetch us Allah’s love. The Prophet SAW said, “The voluntary worship will bring the kurb (closeness) of Allah SWT”.  This requires us to first aim for Allah’s closeness. Praying heedlessly without intending for Allah’s kurb won’t get us kurb. This goes with any aspect.

 

Be Consistent in Your Daily Activities

Hazrat instructs to complete the daily deeni activities (maamul) in any state irrespective of being in wudhu or while sitting or walking. Abandoning the maamul after establishing it will deprive its blessings. Do the maamul assiduously with your utmost capacity. In accordance to perseverance, awareness of Allah SWT and mindfulness of etiquettes, you will obtain its blessings. If one has an excuse due to illness and he cannot do ablution, do the maamul in any state. Do not discontinue. Hazrat Sirri (RA) was sitting under a tree when he felt a voice is emanating from the tree. Allah SWT guides His SWT slaves in His SWT own way. He heard, “O Sirri! Be like me. People pelt stones at me and in turn I give them fruits”. Hazrat Sirri (RA) said mockingly, “If you are a great saint, why do people throw you in fire?”.  It said, “My one weakness wipes away all my good characteristics. I sway in whatever direction the wind blows and I am not stable”. Do the maamul by any means. You may feel lazy, lack in concentration and have no time but somehow do it. Do not leave the maamul and inshaaAllah everything will set right.

 

The Prophet SAW advised us to do acts consistently though small. This is better than doing righteous acts being awake throughout the night. You don’t have to stay awake for 3/4^th of night or ½ of the night or even 1/4^th of the night. Just pray four units of voluntary Salah during night but for Allah’s sake pray consistently. Sometimes when you feel the sleep is dominant and you find it difficult to wake up, and not much time is left, offer Salah with the intention of praying tahajjud before going to bed. Do not abandon. Let Allah SWT grant us all tawfeeq (divine help) and this is greatly blessed. Ameen. Abandoning the maamul after establishing it will deprive its blessings. Our beloved Prophet SAW said, “O Abdullah! Do not be like the man who used to pray during nights and then left it”. Do not give up a deed after making it habitual. This resembles a man who visits his ruler frequently and after establishing good relationship, he terminates his visit. The ruler will be displeased right? There won’t be any complaints against the one who does not establish any relationship. You established relationship with Allah SWT and left it. Worship Allah SWT in private.  This relationship is very essential.

 

Keep the Islahi Talluq Intact

Hazrat says, in islaahi talluq (spiritual contact with a Sheikh), even if you do not act on counselling, maintain the contact. He doesn’t prescribe more daily activities lest it becomes difficult but the reformation of aamal is very essential. This contact is blessed and hence keep asking the sheikh. The shaitan severs the contact and created suspicion. The nafs and the mood then leads the saalik. When his faith in sheikh surpasses his suspicions, he will ask everything to the sheikh. So there is blessing in talluq.  One disciple wrote to his sheikh that his nafs finds it very difficult to control his eyes requesting to prescribe him something by which he can permanently despise this distressing act. The sheikh replied, there is no solution except taking courage and laboring assiduously. Yes there are two acts that can assist this: 1) concentrating on dhikr of Allah SWT being mindful and (2) pondering over the punishment such as what would be the sin’s reaction, its loss, which blessing it would snatch away and what sort of things I will be deprived of by Allah’s anger. These two acts can assist but one should actually take courage and work. You should exert your nafs. Allah SWT assures the punishment for sin if we do not repent. If not today, we will be punished tomorrow or in old age or sometimes later but the punishment is sure. There are hundred thousands of blessings of Allah SWT descending on us and we never know which blessing we lost or the door of blessings shut because of our sins. Allah decides to exalt us but due to sins He SWT leaves us at lower level. The sinner doesn’t realize this. Contemplation of punishment and loss incurred by sins will give courage by its blessing. A sinner who is habitual of sins gets tangled up by problems and when Allah SWT grants him piety, life pure of sins, his affairs get set right. When Allah SWT says something, there is power behind it and none can stop Him SWT.

 

Increase Your Faith in Allah through Aamaal

A saalik questioned about the ways of attaining yaqeen (conviction) in Allah SWT. In reply he was asked to perform aamal (righteous deeds) by blessings of which he will develop yaqeen and is the only way. Yaqeen is created only by amal. When a man receives from Allah SWT and take decisions with Allah’s help by means of aamal he develops yaqeen in Allah SWT. If we want something from Allah SWT, our beloved Prophet SAW asked us to pray haajat-salah. If one’s need is not fulfilled by two units of hajat salah and he continuously prays without giving up finally getting the yaqeen then inshaaAllah his job will be done with just two units of salah. One will get yaqeen only through aamaal.  As per Prophet’s SAW saying, “Charity stands in the way of calamity”, a person continuously gives charity until his yaqeen is increased by its blessing. Eventually he will have more yaqeen in giving charity than visiting the doctor and he will get more peace in giving charity like he pays doctor’s fees. Our Prophet SAW said, “Treat the sick with charity”. Who believes this today? Only through aamaal, the yaqeen increases. There is no other way. Generally people do not know the reality of mashwara (consultation). When they find the consultation useful or detrimental, they blame solely the adviser. Consulting with a trustworthy person who is righteous and pious makes the decision easy and the faithful person is pleased with whatever comes from Allah SWT. There will be a definite blessing in the outcome. Let Allah SWT grant us the tawfeeq for amal and the true understanding of the deen. Ameen

 

-Morning Tarbiati Majlis (23.12.2016) https://fahmedeen.org/beta/

https://theheartopener.wordpress.com/2017/03/27/get-close-to-allah-azzawajal/