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It is a perception we don't experience while we pray, for we bow our heads and look downwards. In Sulaimania, one feels crushed by the grandeur of the mosque should one raise one's head up to look at the dome. It feels as if one gazes the fathomless heavens. Indeed the dome is an excellent symbol for the firmament. The verse selected from Quran aptly reflects this grandeur and magnificence:
إن الله يمسك السماوات والأرض أن تزولا ولئن زالتا إن أمسكهما من أحد من بعده إنه كان حليما غفورا
which means: "Allah grasps the heavens and the earth that they deviate not, and if they were to deviate there is no one to grasp them after Him. Indeed, He is ever Clement, Forgiving."
You can view the verse when you view the image in large size.
Ihtisam:
Bu guzel camide basinizi kaldirip kubbeye baktiginiz zaman manzaranin azameti ve ihtisami altinda eziliyorsunuz; kendi kucuklugunuzu ve aczinizi hissediyorsunuz.
Asagida, benim ve Yavuz'un yorumlarinda ayet hakkinda, hat hakkinda aciklamalar bulabilirsiniz. Yavuz'a cok tesekkur ediyorum.
Pencipta (Fāţir):12 - Dan tiada sama (antara) dua laut; yang ini tawar, segar, sedap diminum dan yang lain asin lagi pahit. Dan dari masing-masing laut itu kamu dapat memakan daging yang segar dan kamu dapat mengeluarkan perhiasan yang dapat kamu memakainya, dan pada masing-masingnya kamu lihat kapal-kapal berlayar membelah laut supaya kamu dapat mencari karunia-Nya dan supaya kamu bersyukur.
Pencipta (Fāţir):40 - Katakanlah: "Terangkanlah kepada-Ku tentang sekutu-sekutumu yang kamu seru selain Allah. Perlihatkanlah kepada-Ku (bahagian) manakah dari bumi ini yang telah mereka ciptakan ataukah mereka mempunyai saham dalam (penciptaan) langit atau adakah Kami memberi kepada mereka sebuah Kitab sehingga mereka mendapat keterangan-keterangan yang jelas daripadanya? Sebenarnya orang-orang yang zalim itu sebahagian dari mereka tidak menjanjikan kepada sebahagian yang lain, melainkan tipuan belaka".
Pencipta (Fāţir):29 - Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang selalu membaca kitab Allah dan mendirikan shalat dan menafkahkan sebahagian dari rezeki yang Kami anugerahkan kepada mereka dengan diam-diam dan terang-terangan, mereka itu mengharapkan perniagaan yang tidak akan merugi,
rhdr
Pencipta (Fāţir):12 - Dan tiada sama (antara) dua laut; yang ini tawar, segar, sedap diminum dan yang lain asin lagi pahit. Dan dari masing-masing laut itu kamu dapat memakan daging yang segar dan kamu dapat mengeluarkan perhiasan yang dapat kamu memakainya, dan pada masing-masingnya kamu lihat kapal-kapal berlayar membelah laut supaya kamu dapat mencari karunia-Nya dan supaya kamu bersyukur.
oznor
Pencipta (Fāţir):12 - Dan tiada sama (antara) dua laut; yang ini tawar, segar, sedap diminum dan yang lain asin lagi pahit. Dan dari masing-masing laut itu kamu dapat memakan daging yang segar dan kamu dapat mengeluarkan perhiasan yang dapat kamu memakainya, dan pada masing-masingnya kamu lihat kapal-kapal berlayar membelah laut supaya kamu dapat mencari karunia-Nya dan supaya kamu bersyukur.
Pencipta (Fāţir):13 - Dia memasukkan malam ke dalam siang dan memasukkan siang ke dalam malam dan menundukkan matahari dan bulan, masing-masing berjalan menurut waktu yang ditentukan. Yang (berbuat) demikian itulah Allah Tuhanmu, kepunyaan-Nya-lah kerajaan. Dan orang-orang yang kamu seru (sembah) selain Allah tiada mempunyai apa-apa walaupun setipis kulit ari.
Pencipta (Fāţir):18 - Dan orang yang berdosa tidak akan memikul dosa orang lain. Dan jika seseorang yang berat dosanya memanggil (orang lain) untuk memikul dosanya itu tiadalah akan dipikulkan untuknya sedikitpun meskipun (yang dipanggilnya itu) kaum kerabatnya. Sesungguhnya yang dapat kamu beri peringatan hanya orang-orang yang takut kepada azab Tuhannya (sekalipun) mereka tidak melihat-Nya dan mereka mendirikan sembahyang. Dan barangsiapa yang mensucikan dirinya, sesungguhnya ia mensucikan diri untuk kebaikan dirinya sendiri. Dan kepada Allahlah kembali(mu).
Pencipta (Fāţir):29 - Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang selalu membaca kitab Allah dan mendirikan shalat dan menafkahkan sebahagian dari rezeki yang Kami anugerahkan kepada mereka dengan diam-diam dan terang-terangan, mereka itu mengharapkan perniagaan yang tidak akan merugi,
Kejar 3:
1. Baca alquran
2. Sholat
3. Sedekah
Panen pahala kelak.
Pencipta (Fāţir):3 - Hai manusia, ingatlah akan nikmat Allah kepadamu. Adakah pencipta selain Allah yang dapat memberikan rezeki kepada kamu dari langit dan bumi? Tidak ada Tuhan selain Dia; maka mengapakah kamu berpaling ?
Pencipta (Fāţir):33 - (Bagi mereka) surga 'Adn mereka masuk ke dalamnya, di dalamnya mereka diberi perhiasan dengan gelang-gelang dari emas, dan dengan mutiara, dan pakaian mereka didalamnya adalah sutera.
Pencipta (Fāţir):18 - Dan orang yang berdosa tidak akan memikul dosa orang lain. Dan jika seseorang yang berat dosanya memanggil (orang lain) untuk memikul dosanya itu tiadalah akan dipikulkan untuknya sedikitpun meskipun (yang dipanggilnya itu) kaum kerabatnya. Sesungguhnya yang dapat kamu beri peringatan hanya orang-orang yang takut kepada azab Tuhannya (sekalipun) mereka tidak melihat-Nya dan mereka mendirikan sembahyang. Dan barangsiapa yang mensucikan dirinya, sesungguhnya ia mensucikan diri untuk kebaikan dirinya sendiri. Dan kepada Allahlah kembali(mu).
logis. agama harus masuk akal :)
Pencipta (Fāţir):12 - Dan tiada sama (antara) dua laut; yang ini tawar, segar, sedap diminum dan yang lain asin lagi pahit. Dan dari masing-masing laut itu kamu dapat memakan daging yang segar dan kamu dapat mengeluarkan perhiasan yang dapat kamu memakainya, dan pada masing-masingnya kamu lihat kapal-kapal berlayar membelah laut supaya kamu dapat mencari karunia-Nya dan supaya kamu bersyukur.
Pencipta (Fāţir):13 - Dia memasukkan malam ke dalam siang dan memasukkan siang ke dalam malam dan menundukkan matahari dan bulan, masing-masing berjalan menurut waktu yang ditentukan. Yang (berbuat) demikian itulah Allah Tuhanmu, kepunyaan-Nya-lah kerajaan. Dan orang-orang yang kamu seru (sembah) selain Allah tiada mempunyai apa-apa walaupun setipis kulit ari.
Pencipta (Fāţir):11 - Dan Allah menciptakan kamu dari tanah kemudian dari air mani, kemudian Dia menjadikan kamu berpasangan (laki-laki dan perempuan). Dan tidak ada seorang perempuanpun mengandung dan tidak (pula) melahirkan melainkan dengan sepengetahuan-Nya. Dan sekali-kali tidak dipanjangkan umur seorang yang berumur panjang dan tidak pula dikurangi umurnya, melainkan (sudah ditetapkan) dalam Kitab (Lauh Mahfuzh). Sesungguhnya yang demikian itu bagi Allah adalah mudah.
Continued from: flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/51683698952/in/dateposted-...
40. Refer all matters to Allah and His Messenger, then defer
يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اَطِيۡـعُوا اللّٰهَ وَاَطِيۡـعُوا الرَّسُوۡلَ وَاُولِى الۡاَمۡرِ مِنۡكُمۡ
فَاِنۡ تَنَازَعۡتُمۡ فِىۡ شَىۡءٍ فَرُدُّوۡهُ اِلَى اللّٰهِ وَالرَّسُوۡلِ اِنۡ كُنۡـتُمۡ تُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ بِاللّٰهِ وَالۡيَـوۡمِ الۡاٰخِرِ ؕ
ذٰ لِكَ خَيۡرٌ وَّاَحۡسَنُ تَاۡوِيۡلًا
O you who believed!
Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those who have been entrusted with authority among you.
Then if you disagree in anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day.
That is the best for you and the best determination.
Surah An-Nisa, Verse 59
I had to study the verse in the Tafseer e Jilani. Only Ghaus Pak (ra) would explain what it really meant; obeying!
Ya Ayyuhalladina Amino: By bringing faith, being counted among the Momineen, your duty becomes that you obey Allah and you obey His Messenger (peace be upon him).
Atiu’ Allah: You obey Allah by acting upon His Commands and avoiding what He has forbidden.
Wa Atiu’ Rasool: And you obey the Rasool (peace be upon him), the one He chose Himself as His Khalifa, Vice-regent, for he is the one who guides you towards His One-ness.
Wa: And also obey…
Ulil Amri Minkum: the ones who decide matters and they are those who establish the Sha’ir ul Islam, the Signs of Islam, amongst you. These people are the ones who are leaders, those who have authority and who are judges, who struggle in the application of orders and finding a solution.
I asked Qari Sahib what it means to establish Sha’ir ul Islam – the Signs of Islam. He referred me to the next part of the verse;
Fa in Tanaaza’tum: So if there happens to be a dispute between you and the ulil amr, those who have authority over you…
Fi Shayin: in a matter of whether something is according to the Shari’a, Islamic Law, or not…
Fa rudduhu; return the matter to and turn yourself towards…
Ila: Allah’s Book…
Allah Wa: and the hadith
Ar-Rasool: and present the matter before both of them and find a solution from both of them…
In kuntu tu’mino billahi: if you believe in Allah, the One who gives the reward to His Servants for their deeds, be they good or bad…
Wal Yaumil Akhira: and you believe in the Last Day, which is the Day prepared for reward or punishment.
Dalika: This returning of the matter…
Khairun: is better for you than the injustice you will arrive at from your own reflection…
Wa ahsanu taweela: and will yield the best result for you, better than the result you arrive at on your own and will be more deserving of praise for the conclusion of the matter than your unfairness.
Sheikh Nurjan:
“As soon as you say, “ati`oollah, obey Allah,” it has a power and a secret. There are 500 ma’moorat, obligations, that Allah ordered us to fulfill, and 800 manhiyyaat, things which are forbidden, that we must leave. How can one count and follow 500 orders and leave 800 forbidden actions?
If you repeat that word alone, “ati`ullah, ati`ullah, ati`ullah,” reminding yourself with it, then Allah Subhan Ta’ala will completely dress you as if you have fulfilled all 500 obligations and left the 800 forbiddens. Allahu Akbar! Then you continue with, “ati`ur-Rasool, obey the Prophet,” and with Allah’s order, Prophet (peace be upon him) will dress you with all his Sunnah, voluntary actions, and in the meaning of Khaatam ar-Rasool, “Seal of Prophets,” as if you have obeyed him from beginning to end!
As Grandshaykh and Mawlana Shaykh Nazim said, with every letter of the Holy Qur’an, even if it is repeated hundreds or thousands of times, Allah opens 24,000 oceans of knowledge to His Auliya (the Ulul Amr), which they keep hidden. They give to their followers little by little, as if from a dropper. They give a little bit to the hearts of their listeners and continue to upload that until one day Allah will give permission to fully open it to the hearts of their disciples.
The goal is to reach Allah’s Pleasure and enter into the Divinely Presence and it enters within us. It is to make the house and heart of the believer the House of Allah so that His Light and His Grace can emanate from such a heart. That is why in the Quran Allah describes the Ka’ba as ‘wash your heart, clean your heart, circumambulate your heart, which is My House, the Ka’ba.’ That’s why we call Auliya Allah, the Friends of God, Qiblas (directions) and Ka’ba. Their hearts are like the Ka’ba which direct people towards the Divinely Presence. And they are a Qibla in that they give a direction and focus in life.
Allah knows we are weak and if we were given a thousand lives, we won’t be able to achieve that without this system Allah has put in place. People may have beliefs and love but to enter into that Divinely Light, Allah has a system to reach the Haqaiq, the Realities of ‘La ilaha Illallah.’
So then Allah says ‘ati’ur Rasool’ He is telling us ‘I know you can’t follow Me because that’s the Station of the Messengers. So follow the way and the love of your Beloved Messenger (peace be upon him) who is beloved by Allah and most praised within all of Creation, Sayadna Muhammadan Rasool Ullah (peace be upon him).
So then comes the third piece, Ulil Amr, because the Auliya Allah begin to describe that if our goal was to make our house a Ka’ba, the only one who can bring the law and discipline of Allah, the deen (religion) of Allah, the Message of Allah is Muhammadun Rasool Ullah (peace be upon him). The spiritual paths are the schools of guidance.
For in the Quran Allah says, ‘there is no guidance except if Allah guides’ and that has many degrees of guidance; something basic, something middle, something high and something very high. There are darajaats, spiritual ranks, of guidance and realities of guidance. The highest rank is Maqam Al Mahmood, the highest heaven is Jannat al Firdaus. These are all in fact existent within the reality and the heart of Sayaddna Muhammad (peace be upon him).
So the Auliya Allah, their whole teachings are about only him, Muhammad Ar Rasool Allah (peace be upon him). Through that the heart can be perfected. Allah says in the Quran that the Prophet (peace be upon him) is a guidance. He brings the message, he purifies the believers. He brings lights and blessings into the hearts of the believers. So how does Allah say that? He says if you want to reach Me, following the Prophet (peace be upon him) and I will love you. My Divine Love will emanate from your heart. ”
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ
وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Say (O Prophet (peace be upon you)), "If you love God, follow me and God will love you and forgive you your sins for God is Much-Forgiving, a Dispenser of Grace."
Surah Al e Imran, Verse 31
You can live a thousand years and a thousand lifetimes and you cannot achieve this without this system. Because Allah is saying come to Me through him. So the perfect line of Tauheed – La ilaha illallah Muhammad ar Rasoolallah – Allah is saying if you want to reach my La ilaha illallah, (Tauheed, My One-ness), come to me through Muhammad ar Rasoolallah. You cannot just say La ilaha illallah. Without Muhammad ar Rasoolallah, you are outside the belief system.”
Hazrat Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti Ajmeri (ra) said the same in a different way:
If the one who does not believe utters (the words) La Ilaha Illallah, There is no God but God, for a 100 years , he will never attain faith. But if once he says, Muhammad Ar-Rasool Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His Messenger, he removes from himself a 100 years of apostasy.
“So the Ulil Amr are dressed and blessed by Allah to open a door on this Earth and the door must have a tongue in which it teaches, trains and guides, everything based on Muhammad Ar Rasoolallah (peace be upon him).
So be wary, when you enter a door and they talk a lot about Allah. Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, that is not the right door. That is not the right room. For all doors in the Universe, above it is only Muhammad Ar Rasoolallah (peace be upon him). So the Ulil Amr should be talking about him so you can try to reach him for he is who is above them. The one who doesn’t talk about him and cuts him out, only talking about Allah, that’s Hizb ul Shaitaan, the party of Iblis. He is the one who says, ‘I don’t accept any of these Adams, only Allah.
So that’s how the student should know; if I enter into a room on the Ulil Amr, their whole existence pivots, like moons, around one sun; the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The moon is guidance. It gives you your time, your coordinates, it nourishes you and raises you. Read the Farmer’s Almanac on what a moon is. The Shams ul Arifeen, the Sun of the Gnostics, is Muhammad Ar Rasoolullah (peace be upon him). It is his light upon them, upon the moons, that makes everything guided and beatific and ripened and sweet.”
Subhan Allah!
“The room we want to enter is the room that teaches all the realities of the beatific nature of Rasool Allah (peace be upon him) and his creation. Everything they say is about his reality and the realities of his essence – The Muhammadan Reality. So the door to that reality, how will you find it? By picking up a book? No! These people are the Ulil Amri minkum.’
Now understand the levels of Ulil Amr. A president is Ulil Amr. Allah has given him that authority. Even if he’s an oppressor, Allah gave him the authority. It doesn’t matter what they believe or not. There are duniya Ulil Amr, who have authority of the matters related to the world. Then there are people who give guidance within religions like the clergy.
But the Ulil Amr minkum that Allah is describing are of a different nature and reality. They understand the alif-meem-ra of the word Amr. They are dressed by the Alif which makes them have Izzatullah (Honour of Allah), they’re dressed with the realities of the Meem which is Izzat ur Rusool (the honour of the Messenger (peace be upon him)), the might and majestry and authority of his person and Izzat ul Mo’mineen (the honor of the believers). It is by virtue of these three realities that power is bestowed upon this Earth.
The Ulil Amr represent the Honour of Allah on this Earth, they represent the honour of the Rasool (peace be upon him) and they are the Auliya Allah. The authority granted to them does not require speech. It is not from this world but from the World of the Unseen. The Ulil Amr are a door upon this Earth. Our life is to find that door.
The Spiritual Masters who can teach that reality, speak to it, they are from that door. They’re from the Ulil Amr. As a result, the doors that are established on this Earth at all time, for all time, Allah will keep guidance on this Earth through them for the sake of the nation of Sayyadna Muhammad (peace be upon him). Some of them have been given blessings but not guidance.
Those who have been given guidance are inheritors of the 313 Messengers of Allah. They have been given a support from Allah through their ears, and their eyes, and their breath and their hands and their feet and their Lisaan as Sadeeq – a truthful tongue.
41. Who are the Faithful – The Momineen? The Truthful
وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِۦٓ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلصِّدِّيقُونَ ۖ
وَٱلشُّهَدَآءُ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ وَنُورُهُمْ ۖ
˹As for˺ those who believe in Allah and His messengers, it is they who are ˹truly˺ the people of truth. And the ones who witness, with their Lord, will have their reward and their light.
Surah Al-Hadeed, Verse 19
Tafseer e Jilani:
Alladina a’mano billahi wa rasooli hi: Those who are sincere (akhlasu) in their faith and then attested that sincerity by goodness in their deeds and their ehsaan, which is humility in the presence of Allah…
O’laika: these are the lucky ones who are accepted (by God).
Humuss siddeeqoon: They are the truthful one, who have reached the highest ranks of truth and have restricted themselves upon sincerity, steadfast and still in the Way of truthful certainty.
Wa Shuhuda: They are the ones who unveil, the ones who witness and the ones who are present…
I’nda Rabbihim: near their Lord, seeking further submergence in Him through their desire for a prolonging of that meeting.
Lahum: For them is in the next life…
Ajarhum wa nooruhum: is their reward and their light promised to them from Allah for they don’t want anything other than that.
Qari Sahib asked me, “Why are they getting two things, ajr and noor?”
As usual I was dumb because as usual I had no idea.
The Ajr, reward, is for their deeds and the noor is for their ikhlaas, sincerity. Then there’s a second layering to it; the reward, ajr, is for the faith in Allah, imaan. The noor is for following the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). See the reference:
يَٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَءَامِنُوا۟ بِرَسُولِهِۦ
يُؤْتِكُمْ كِفْلَيْنِ مِن رَّحْمَتِهِۦ
وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ نُورًۭا تَمْشُونَ بِهِۦ
وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ۚ
وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ
O you who believe! Be mindful of Allah and believe in His Messenger;
He will give you double portion of His Mercy
and He will make for you a light,
you will walk with it,
and He will forgive you.
And Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Surah Al-Hadeed, Verse 28
42. The Healing of the Heart
يَٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ قَدْ جَآءَتْكُم مَّوْعِظَةٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَشِفَآءٌۭ لِّمَا فِى ٱلصُّدُورِ وَهُدًۭى وَرَحْمَةٌۭ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
O Mankind! Verily has come to you an instruction from your Lord,
and a healing for what is in your breasts,
and guidance
and mercy
for the believers.
Surah Yunus, Verse 57
Tafseer e Jilani:
Ya Ayyun naas: O Mankind, those who have forgotten their original purpose and their true abode…
Qad Ja’atkum: indeed has come to you (a Prophet (peace be upon him) and The Book, 5/15) to awaken you and warn you…
Muazzatun: as an admonishment and to remind you…
Mir Rabbikum wa shifa ullima fi sudoor: from your Lord. And heal you from your anger and grudges that have taken firm residence in your hearts.
Wa hudan: And they will guide you to those who are in the know (about Allah) and bring you before Him.
Wa rahmatun: and they are the mercy in abundance which encompasses everything…
Lil Momineen: for those who are virtuous and conscious of Allah.
43. Allah’s Bounty; the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Quran
قُلْ بِفَضْلِ ٱللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِۦ فَبِذَلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا۟ هُوَ خَيْرٌۭ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ
Say O Prophet (peace be upon him), "In (this) is the Bounty of Allah and His Mercy so in that let them rejoice."
It is far better than what they accumulate.
Surah Yunus, Verse 10
Tafseer e Jilani:
Qul: O Messenger (peace be upon him) who completes the Message, say to the one who follows you reminding them and guiding them,
Bi fadlillah hi: with Allah’s Bounty and His Best Acceptance and with His endowing of Honour and His Presence…
Wa bi rahmatihi: and by His Mercy, which is expansive for everyone and which is for all His Reflections in the Universe, “They should try to attain the blessings (of them both, the person of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Quran) and unveil them.
Fa bi dalika: By the delight they will receive from them both, they will attain presence before Allah.
Fal yafrahu: So let them rejoice, instead of being of those who do not experience this happiness and do not experience this joy because they prioritize the few moments of their physical, yet perishable desires.
Huwa: Your spiritual joy and happiness…
Khairun Mimma Yajma’oon: is far better than the lusts of your nafs, your base self, and what it demands from your being, if you are of the sincere and those who possess certainty.
44. What is Steadfastness?
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوا۟ رَبُّنَا ٱللَّهُ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَقَمُوا۟
Indeed, those who say, "Our Lord, (is) Allah," then stand firm.
Surah Fussilat, Verse 30
Tafseer e Jilani:
Innalladina : The ones who believe in One-ness…
Qalu: they say in happiness and in difficulty, in secrecy and openly…
Rabbuna Allah: Our Lord is Allah, The One who is One, by Himself, Alone, beyond need who is lam yalid wa lam yulad…
Summastaqamu: the ones who then have to prove what they have claimed. And they acknowledge, realize and confess that (claim) through their deeds as well and their states and their intentions in their daily, ordinary actions.
45. All happiness and pain comes from Allah
مَآ أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ
وَمَن يُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ يَهْدِ قَلْبَهُۥ ۚ
وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
No calamity befalls anyone except by Allah’s Will.
And whoever has faith in Allah, He will rightly guide their hearts.
And Allah has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things.
Surah At-Taghabun, Verse 11
Tafseer e Jilani:
Then He said Subhan Ta’ala, to make us steadfast and firm footed for the ones who possess ma’rifat and iqaan, certainty, on the station of entrusting and reliance.
Ma asaba: That which comes upon one and what it entails…
Min museebati: i.e. whether it is an incidence of happiness that reaches you or of pain…
Illa bi idnallah: it doesn’t happen except with Allah’s Permission according to His Order.
Wa mayyomin Billahi: And the one who believes in Allah and entrusts his matters to Him and makes Him his Disposer of Affairs and makes Him Sufficient and His Protector…
Yahdi qalba hu: He will give guidance to and enlighten his heart and He will show him the Kingdom of Tauheed, One-ness and the symbols of certainty.
Wa: and overall
Allahu: The One who is fully Aware of what is hidden and what is present…
Bi kulli shayan: all that which is under His Control…
Aleem un: because His Knowledge is forever present and nothing can be hidden from Him.
46. The Door of Truth
وَقُل رَّبِّ أَدْخِلْنِى مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍۢ
وَأَخْرِجْنِى مُخْرَجَ صِدْقٍۢ
وَٱجْعَل لِّى مِن لَّدُنكَ سُلْطَـٰنًۭا نَّصِيرًۭا
And say (in your prayer O Beloved), “O my Sustainer!
Cause me to enter (in whatever I do) in a manner, true and sincere,
and cause me to leave it in a manner true and sincere.
And grant me of from Your Presence, a sustaining support.
Surah Al-Isra’, Verse 80
Tafseer e Jilani:
“O my Lord, enter me into the place of being settled, which is the place of Tauheed where everything else vanishes. And place me forever in it without doubt and change within me.
And take me out of the demands of egoism and selfish desires towards dissolution in You, that enjoins me to the Honor of Your Eternity, with a meeting to a place without jolts and slippage, all the while when I am embattling my ego and my nafs Ammara is trying to control me, with that which silences them once and for all and never turns me towards them but towards an appearance before You, that helps me against my enemies and rescues me when they attack me.”
There is Doer except Allah
لا فاعل في الحقيقة و لا مؤثر الا الله
There is no doer except Allah and there is no effect except that which is caused by Allah.
Ghaus Pak (ra)
47. The Ones given knowledge
بَلْ هُوَ ءَايَتٌۢ بَيِّنَتٌۭ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْعِلْمَ ۚ
Nay, it is the verses clear in the breasts of those who are given the knowledge.
Surah Al Ankaboot, Verse 49
Tafseer e Jilani:
Bal huwa: The Quran in its essence…
Ayatun: has signs and proofs which prove the One-ness of Allah…
Bayyinatun: which are so clear that no other evidence, is needed, firm…
Fi Sudoor: in the hearts of the ones who are believers of One-ness…
Alladina utol ilm: and have been granted Knowledge from Him, which emanates directly from the Knowledge of Allah, and is received by them from His Divine Treasures according to their capacity and ability due to His Bounty and His Favour upon them.
Are you an Enemy or a Friend?
Hazrat Najmuddin Kubra (ra) says in the Tafseer e Jilani;
“When Allah sends a trial or a difficulty, He is testing to see who is an enemy and who is a friend.
The one who is a friend and close to Him, in their state of pain, returns to Allah with sighs and remembrance. They rely only upon Him, holding on to the rope of patience and surrender and seeking his Pleasure and firmly holds onto the Support of Allah.
Whereas the enemy of God, in the time of difficulty becames impatient and impulsive. They become ungrateful of His Blessings, impatient and do not surrender to the Destiny of His Lord. Then they turn their face away from Allah and start running to people.”
48. I am a man like you except...
قُلْ إِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ بَشَرٌۭ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَىَّ
Say O Last Messenger (peace be upon you),
“I am only a man like you, to who has been revealed that your God is one God.”
Surah Al-Kahf, Verse 110
Tafseer e Jilani:
Qul: O Messenger who completes The Message (peace be upon you), after you have conveyed to them, the Words of Allah, endless, Words which are devoid of trying to show-off and to impress which leads to arrogance. These Words are only for wisdom and intellect.
Qari Sahib; Allah never says about him that he is a man. He makes him say it, not Himself; You say it! For it is wisdom and for the intellect.
Inna ana basharum mislukum: No doubt, I am a man in appearance like you, accepting of certain knowledge and knowing according to Mankind. There is no difference between me and you in terms of human nature. But there is one difference…
Youha illaya: Revelation comes upon me and pours upon me Ilm ul Yaqeen, Ayn ul Yaqeen and Haq ul Yaqeen (Knowledge of the Divine, Witnessing of the Divine and the Truth of the Divine).
Qari Sahib; This word yufadu – pouring - reminds me of the hadith when Nabi Kareem (peace be upon you) was praying and he was seeing the grapes of Heaven while he was praying – Ayn ul Yaqeen. He reached his hand upwards as if to break off a bunch – Haq ul Yaqeen.
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا ،
قَالَ : خَسَفَتِ الشَّمْسُ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَصَلَّى ،
قَالُوا : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ رَأَيْنَاكَ تَنَاوَلْتَ شَيْئًا فِي مَقَامِكَ ، ثُمَّ رَأَيْنَاكَ تَكَعْكَعْتَ ،
قَالَ : إِنِّي أُرِيتُ الْجَنَّةَ ، فَتَنَاوَلْتُ مِنْهَا عُنْقُودًا ، وَلَوْ أَخَذْتُهُ لَأَكَلْتُمْ مِنْهُ مَا بَقِيَتِ الدُّنْيَا .
Narrated by Hazrat `Abdullah bin `Abbas (ratu):
Once a solar eclipse occurred during the time of Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him).
He offered the eclipse prayer.
His companions asked, O Allah's Apostle! We saw you trying to take something while standing at your place and then we saw you retreating.
The Prophet answered, “I was shown Paradise and wanted to have a bunch of fruit from it. Had I taken it, you would have eaten from it as long as the world remains.”
49. How to receive honour
مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ ٱلْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ ٱلْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًاۚ إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ ٱلْكَلِمُ ٱلطَّيِّبُ وَٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّلِحُ يَرْفَعُهُۚۥ
Whoever for him desires the honor, then for Allah is the Honor all.
To Him ascends the good words, and righteous deeds raises it.
Surah Fatir, Verse 10
Tafseer e Jilani:
Man kana yureed ul izzata: The one who wants honour, endless, after which never comes humiliation ever, then he should turn towards Allah and makes his focus His One-ness.
Fa lillahe izzatu: For only Allah is the True Owner of Honour, which includes control, eternal majesty and all kingdoms…
Jami-an: overt (zahiri) and inner (batini). And the one who desires that Allah bestow upon him honour and control and absolute kingdoms and abundance that remains forever, then he should, in his initial stages toward Allah, praise Him by way of His Perfect Names and Exalted Attributes till his remembrance reaches the stages of their reflection in him.
This (the reflection) is the last effort and then he becomes a reflector of Allah’s Being, wanting to unveil the Veils of His Omnipotence, till he becomes present before Him, able to unveil Him and witness the Signs of His Names and Attributes on the surface of the Universe without the distortion created by others.
And overall (in summary), the one who seeks honour should be occupied in the Remembrance by Allah in the early stages because
Ilayhi yasadu alkalm at tayyabu: towards Him ascend good words which are the Prefect Names of Allah and His Exalted Attributes, increasing in frequency from the tongues of The Sincere and The Ones who Reflect in Allah’s Blessings and His Bounty…
Wal al amal as saleh: and (they should be occupied) in good deeds enjoined with ikhlas, sincerity and tabbatul, devotion to Him (also ascending towards Him)…
Yarfa’uhu: (which will be why) He then raises that deed founded upon sincerity and those good words allowing them to reach towards the stages of Closeness with Allah. So for the one whose sincerity in his deed is perfect, then the ranks of his words which are raised towards Allah Subhanahu are the highest and the most supreme to Him.
50. The Prayer of Tahajjud
وَمِنَ ٱلَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِۦ نَافِلَةًۭ لَّكَ
And rise from your sleep and pray during the part of the night and extra voluntary prayer,
it may be well that your Lord will raise you (to) a station praiseworthy.
Surah Al Isra’, Verse 79
Tafseer e Jilani:
Wa: And if you want even more closeness (to Allah) and blessings, then awaken your heart and body, in the last part…
Min al layli: of the night and leave sleep out of desire for the Pleasure of Allah…
Fatahajjad bihi: and pray the Prayer of Tahajjud, prolonging your recitation in it so it becomes…
Nafilatan: extra…
Laka: than the dutied prayers for you. It will increase your Closeness and your honour (before your Lord).
51. Seek help through prayer and patience
وَٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ۚ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلْخَشِعِينَ
And seek help through patience and the prayer.
And indeed it is surely difficult, except for those who are humble.
Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 45
Tafseer e Jilani:
Wa: And so Allah commands to ask for help through them both (prayer and patience)…
Asta’ino: with (tawajju) focus upon Him and (taqarrab) achieving nearness to Him…
Bis sabr: with control of that which creates lust in the body and that which causes attraction to the world…
Wa salat: and instead incline yourself towards the focus and the nearness and turn away from everything except Allah. Don’t ignore this Command and don’t take it lightly.
Wa innaha la kabeera: Indeed this (turning towards Allah) is heavy and burdensome upon everyone…
Illa ala al-Khashiyeen: except the ones whose hearts are in prostration.
52. Who are the Khashiyeen? – The ones whose hearts are in prostration
ٱلَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُم مُّلَقُوا۟ رَبِّهِمْ وَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ رَجِعُونَ
(They are) the ones who believe they will meet their Lord and that they will return to Him.
Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 46
Tafseer e Jilani:
Alladeena: They (the Kashiyeen) are the ones who lift the grime of other-ness (from Allah) from the eye (of the heart). And drop the blemish of duality to attain clarity.
Yadunoona annahum mulaqu Rabbihim: They believe in the meeting with their Lord in this life because they worship him as if they see Him.
Wa: And they know with certainty…
Annahum ilayhi: they will, without doubt, towards Him and no one except Him, because there is no one in existence except Him…
Raji’oon: return, making their abode in the Hereafter.
Then he (Ghaus Pak (ra)) prays: Please Dear Lord, Make us of the one who follow these people and love these people - (who possess certainty of their return to You and worship You as if they see You and make their abode the Hereafter).
53. Man is created Weak
يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ أَن يُخَفِّفَ عَنكُمْ ۚ وَخُلِقَ ٱلْإِنسَنُ ضَعِيفًۭا
Allah wishes to lighten your burdens because Man has been created weak.
Surah An-Nisa, Verse 28
Tafseer e Jilani:
Yureed Allah u: Allah wishes, as The One who manages your affairs,…
Ayyukhaffifa ankum: that He makes it light for you, the ones who are believers – the Momineen - the burdens you carry. For these (burdens) are the reasons for your needs and your state of being dependent on the world.
Wa: And the condition is that…
Khuliq al Insaan: Man is created, in his original nature…
Daeefan: weak. He cannot carry the burden of being needful of the world, just like other animals.
Then Ghaus Pak (ra) prays: Dear Lord, Make light for us the weight of our sins by Your Bounty and remove from us the evilness of evils by virtue of Your Generosity and grant us the life of the ones that were devoted to You.
54. Man was created in hardship
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَنَ فِى كَبَدٍ
Certainly, we have created Man to be in hardship.
Surah Al Balad, Verse 4
Tafseer e Jilani:
And overall, Allah takes oaths upon so many things (Verses 1-3) because
Laqad khalaqnal insaana: Surely, We created Man and revealed his life in this world, to be buried…
Fi kabad: in extensive exhaustion and toil, which makes busy his entire external physical being as well as his internal organs so much that (that life) envelops all his internal and external parts. This is caused by the needs of his livelihood and its means.
Thus he becomes distracted from Allah and because of those needs, he leaves the affairs of his return to Him. Then begins the gathering of money and the collection of fuel and sins which make him distant from Al Hakeen Al Allaam, The Wise and All Knowing Lord.
So he becomes so intensely busy with this world, forgetting the Afterlife and his feet slip from the Path of His Lord.
55-57: Time
وَٱلْعَصْرِ
إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّلِحَتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ
The human being is surely in a state of loss
Except those who believe and do righteous deeds and enjoin (each other) to the truth and enjoin (each other) to [the] patience.
Surah Al-Asr, Verses 1-3
Wal Asr: Then Allah Suban Ta’ala takes an oath upon time and the ages, the meaning of which is about the Eternal Essence of Allah, from the beginning till the end, timeless and everlasting.
Innal Insaana: Indeed, the human being, created such to have a natural propensity towards the nature of ma’rifa, the Recognition of God and imaan, faith according to the his share of the Lahoot, the Realm of the Divine where there is no time and space…
Lafe khusr: is in a state of loss, immense and humiliating failure, as a result of their busyiness in that which is useless due to the requirements (and needs) of his physical being, as related to his share of the world of Nasoot, the life in this world.
Illa: Except the Muqinoon, those who possess inner certainty…
Alladina Aamami: about the One-ness of Allah Subhan Ta’ala and are conscious, through their steadfastness, in their behaviour continuously in His Kingdom and about His Authority.
Wa: And with this faith and certainty…
Amilos Sualihaat: they do good deeds which points towards their ikhas, sincerity and their yaqeen, absolute conviction, and niyyat, intention.
Wa: And in this condition…
Tawasau bil Haq: they enjoin each other towards the Path of God and His One-ness…
Wa tawasau: and they also enjoin each other…
Bis sabr: towards patience for the practice of matters that require obedience and (patience towards) their tiredness from striving hard and (patience towards) from what they suffer as a result of cutting themselves off from their love of the world and (patience towards) leaving their animalistic desires which are attached to human nature.
Then Ghaus Pak (ra) prays: May Allah grant us the ability to be rid of and cut off (from these desires).
58. And you (O Beloved (peace be upon you)) indeed, possess the Best of Manners
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍۢ
And truly you possess the most outstanding manners.
Surah Al Qalm, Verse 4
Tafseer e Jilani:
Wa Innaka: Indeed you, O beloved (peace be upon you), who are the personification of the most perfected adoption of Allah’s Akhlaq, Etiquette and Attributes, and proved to be the most truthful and steadfast in fulfilling your friendship with Allah and in being the most exemplary Vice-regent,…
La’ala khuliqin azeem: possess the most excellent of manners. No one’s akhlaq, behavior, is better than yours because you have gathered and brought together the etiquettes of all the ones before and all the ones after, in line with the ranks you were granted, which are the most exalted (of anyone in existence).
Ikhlas
الإخلاص سر من سري استودعته قلب من أحببت من عبادي
And Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that Allah Ta’ala said:
“Ikhlas, sincerity, is a secret from My Secrets
and I place it in the heart of my servant who is my beloved.”
Ikhlas (sincerity) of intention, action and then perseverance on it is the highest station of love and servitude to God. Ikhlas is defined and explained as:
• The honourable `arif and the wise wayfarer, Khwajah `Abd Allah al Ansari (qs) says: “Ikhlas means purging action of all impurities.” And the ‘impurities’ mean desire to please oneself and other creatures.
• The great scholar Shaykh al-Baha'i (ra) has narrated that the people of the heart (those who love Allah by heart) say that: "Ikhlas means keeping action free from other than God having a role in it and that the performer of an action should not desire any reward for it in the world and the Hereafter."
Ikhlas is subsequent to action
One must exercise vigilance as it some¬times happens that man carries out an action faultlessly without any shortcoming and performs it without riya' (showing off) or `ujb (self-love) but after the action he becomes afflicted with riya' through mentioning it to others, as pointed out in the following noble hadith:
• Imam al Baqir (a) said: "Perseverance in an action is more difficult than the act itself."
He was asked, "What is meant by perseverance in action?"
He (a) replied, "A man does some kindness to a relative or expends something for the sake of God, Who is One and has no partner. Thereupon the reward of a good deed performed secretly is written for him.
Later, he mentions it to someone and that which was written earlier is wiped out and instead the reward of a good deed performed openly is written for him. Later, when he makes a mention of it again, the vice of riya' (showing off) is written for him (instead of the reward written earlier)."
The Reality of Action is Intention
• It is the sincere intention and pure purpose on which depend the perfection or defectiveness of 'ibadat (worships) and thus their validity or invalidity. Spiritual traits constitute the soul's primary character and intentions, to which actions are subservient, making up its secondary character. And as long as self love remains in the heart and a person remains in the oppressive habitat of the self, he is not a wayfarer toward God (musafir ila Allah); rather, he is one of those who cling to the earth (mukhalladun ila al 'ard).
Shirk in `ibadah' that encompasses all its levels is the inclusion of the good pleasure and satisfaction of anyone other than God, whether it is one's own self or someone else. If it is for someone else's satisfaction and for people, it is outward shirk and fiqhi riya'.
If it is for one's own satisfaction (rida), it is hidden and inward shirk. In view of the `urafa' (gnostics) this also invalidates the 'ibadah and makes it unacceptable to God. Examples of it are offering the nightly prayer (tahajjud) for increase in one's livelihood, or giving zakat for increase in one's wealth;
Although those 'ibadat are valid, and one who performs them is considered to have performed his duty and fulfilled the require¬ments of the shari'ah, they do not amount to the sincere worship of God Almighty, nor are they characterized with sincerity of intention and purity of purpose. Rather, this kind of 'ibadat are aimed to achieve mundane purposes and to seek the objects of lowly desires. Hence the acts of such a person are not rightful.
The Steps to Learning
And it was indicated to me to read the hadith such that these are the means to gain knowledge not that of the world but of the self.
جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى رَسُولِ اَللَّهِ صَلَّى اَللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اَللَّهِ مَا اَلْعِلْمُ
قَالَ اَلْإِنْصَاتُ
قَالَ ثُمَّ مَهْ
قَالَ اَلاِسْتِمَاعُ
قَالَ ثُمَّ مَهْ
قَالَ اَلْحِفْظُ
قَالَ ثُمَّ مَهْ
قَالَ اَلْعَمَلُ بِهِ
قَالَ ثُمَّ مَهْ يَا رَسُولَ اَللَّهِ
قَالَ نَشْرُهُ
The Prophet of God (peace be upon him) was asked:
“What is Knowledge?” He replied: “To keep silent”.
He was asked: “Then?” He said: “To listen.”
He was asked: “Then?” He said: “To remember.”
He was asked: “Then?” He said: “To act upon (what is learned).”
He was asked: “Then?” He said: “To propagate.”
[Ref: Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 2, pg. 28]
Said the wise:
اَلحِفْظُ فِى الصِّغَرِ كَالنَّقْشِ عَلَى الْحَجَرِ وَ الْحِفْظُ فِى الْكِبَرِ كَالْكِتَابَةِ عَلَى الْمَاءِ
''Learning something during one's youth is like engraving in stone,
and learning something when one is old is like writing on the surface of water.’’
[Ref : Bihar al-Anwar, v. 1, p. 222, no. 6]
The Child
The Prophet of God (peace be upon him) said:
إنَّ لِكُلِّ شَجَرَةٍ ثَمَرَةً ، وثَمَرَةُ القَلْبِ الوَلَدُ
“For every tree there is a fruit and the fruit of the heart is the child.”
[Ref: Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 45415]
Ghaus Pak (ra) in Al Fath Ar Rabbani:
“An incident goes that the people of Bani Israel once were faced with a suffering. They gathered and went to the Prophet of their time. ‘What can we do, O Nabi (as)?’ they asked him. “What is the deed that will please Allah and it becomes the means to deliver us from our hardship?”
The Prophet (as) prayed to Allah to unveil to him what that deed would be.
Allah Subhan a Ta’ala revealed to his Prophet (as), “Tell them! If you seek My Pleasure, become a cause to bring happiness to the needy. Thus if you bring ease to them, in their happiness I will become pleased with you. And if you displease them, I will remain displeased with you.”
59. If you love God, follow me
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ
وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Say (O Prophet (peace be upon you)), "If you love God, follow me and God will love you
and forgive you your sins for God is Much-Forgiving, a Dispenser of Grace."
Surah Aal e Imran, Verse 31
Tafseer e Jilani:
Qul: Say, O Beloved (peace be upon you), who has been created to reflect Our Appearance, who has been shaped according to the collective standards of Our Names and Attributes, who has been made so as to acquire all of Our Manner, (say) to the one who you wish to guide and make them reach a certain status from amongst Creation…
In kuntum: “If you, O one who is wayward and drowning in the sea of heedlessness and being astray,
Tuhuboon Allaha: claim love for God, The One who brought you into appearance from nothingness, and you want to focus towards His Being and you want to be in good standing at His Door…
Fattabi’ouni: follow me, because it is His Command and His Order…
Yuhbibkum Allahu: and Allah will love you i.e. He will allow you nearness of His Essence and He will make you reach the Honour of meeting Him…
Wa yaghfir: And He will hide and make disappear…
Lakum: for you, from your outer and inner eyes,…
Dhunubukum: your sins, which cause you to be veiled from the witnessing of the Beauty of Allah and His Magnificence and the vision of His Names and Attributes.
Wallahu: Allah is The Only Guide for you towards Sirat e Tauheed, the Path of His One-ness.
Ghafur: And He is Most Forgiving for you, lifting the barriers that prevent you from gaining closeness to Him.
Rahim: And Most Affectionate towards you making you reach towards what you desire eagerly.
60. Allah is Sufficient for you and the believers who follow you
يَٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ حَسْبُكَ ٱللَّهُ وَمَنِ ٱتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
O Prophet (peace be upon you), Allah is Sufficient for you and those of the believers who follow you.
Surah Al Anfal, Verse 64
Tafseer e Jilani:
Ya Ayyuha Nabi: O Communicator of the Hidden (peace be upon you), the one who has been succored by Allah with His Help and victory against the enemies…
Hasabaka Allahu: only your Lord is Sufficient for you, who is the Disposer of your affairs…
Wa man attaba’ka: and (He is Sifficient) for the one who is obedient to you by the Permission of Allah and His Will…
Min al Mo’mineen: from amongst the believers, the ones who possess certainty in the One-ness of Allah, Al Mo’qineen, the ones who are fulfillers of their promises, Al Muwaffaween, the ones who are striving hard and struggling, in His Way, Al Badileen.
61. Indeed I am Me, Allah
إِنَّنِىٓ أَنَا ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَهَ إِلَّآ أَنَا۠ فَٱعْبُدْنِى وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ لِذِكْرِىٓ
Indeed, only I am Allah. (There is) no god but I, so worship Me
and establish the prayer for My remembrance.
Surah Taha, Verse 14
So let the people know from Me, as My Vice-regent,
Innani ana Allah: Indeed, only I am Allah, The Only One, The All Encompassing, gathering all the Ranks and Names.
La ilaha: There is no one else who is The Gatherer of these ranks…
Illa ana: except Me, The Possessor of All Things, The One Worthy of obedience and being bound by…
Fa’budni: so that you worship Me as is rightful of My Worship i.e. with the best of etiquette with Me by being in your manners as My Manners.
Wa iqm as-salat: And always be inclined with all your (physical and spiritual) parts…
Li dikri: with conscious concentration upon Me with all your (inner and outer) parts so that you can remember Me with all of them and express your gratitude to Me with all of them, till I unveil for you (all your veils), from every part of you, such that I become your hearing and your sight and your body and your feet and everything else in your parts until the Hour of Resurrection comes upon you.
And you stand up in front of your Lord and you find your abode in Jannat al Mawa, near Sidrat ul Muntaha, the Lote Tree, where lies the climax of ascension, the ending of your ascent in moving upwards and your advancement.
62. The Breaking of the Pact
بَرَآءَةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ عَهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ
The disavowal from obligations by Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) from the covenant with the idolators.
Surah Tauba, Verse 1
Commentary by Hazrat Najmuddin Kubra (ra) on the verse:
The symbolic meaning of the verse is this: The mushrikeen, the idolator, is the wayward and polytheist nafs, the base self, who made desires its lord and master and began to worship the idols of the world. When a person is in their early years, the ruh and qalb, the soul and the heart within the heart which is the Station of Recognition of Allah, made a pact with the nafs.
The terms of it being that the ruh and the qalb will not fight and kill the nafs until the person reaches maturity. Similarly, the nafs also makes a pact not to instigate problems with the ruh and the qalb so that the bodily skeleton reaches complete maturity and the physical strength is attained at its peak, which carry the burden of Allah’s Trust and become watchful of Islamic Jurisprudence, the Shari’a.
In this time, the aql, the intellect, the power to reason and reflect, becomes strong which can then accept the invitation of Truth and have the ability to answer it. It is this aql that allows the recognition of the Prophets and their miracles. And it is through this aql that the proof of the Presence of Allah is established and it understands the compulsion of His Worship in order to express gratitude towards Him for His Blessings.
Indeed, Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) withdraw from the pact after maturity is gained.
Because Man broke the pact which was between the nafs and the ruh and the qalb. Before maturity was gained, the nafs was only focused on eating, drinking and clothing itself so that the body can develop and all its needs are met. To this extent, there was no problem for the ruh and the qalb from the nafs. But once maturity was gained, lust and desires became added to these needs.
When the lust appeared along with the need for food and drink, its destruction, created physical desires for a mate. When that lust was aroused and started tempting the body, the qalb and the ruh began to become weak. This was the fatal disease for which the Prophets were sent so as to dispel it.
انما بعثت لرفع العادات و ترک الشھوات
Just like Nabi Kareem (peace be upon said),
“I have been sent to end the ways of ignorance and to prevail over the desires of lust.”
63. God bears Witness that there is no god but Him.
شَهِدَ ٱللَّهُ أَنَّهُۥ لَآ إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَٱلْمَلَٓئِكَةُ وَأُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْعِلْمِ قَآئِمًۢا بِٱلْقِسْطِ ۚ
لَآ إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
God bears witness that there is no god but Him.
And so do the angels and all who are endowed with knowledge and He is the Upholder of Justice.
There is no God except Him, the All-Mighty and the Truly Wise.
Surah Aal e Imran, Verse 8
Tafseer e Jilani:
Shahid Allah: Allah bears witness Himself for His Self that, without doubt, He is…
Annahu la ilaha: The Only One Present and there is no being except His and there is nothing else and there is no reality and nor will there be any presence, being or reality and there is nothing lasting…
Illa hu: except Him Who is, in fact, The Only One Ever-Living with Truth, The Only One who is the Sustainer of All Existence, The One Alone forever, there is nothing except Him.
Wa: And in the way He proffers evidence about Himself…
Al-Malaikatu: so do the angels, which are His Perfect Names and Attributes which exist with the existence of His Essence, because everything is in existence because of His Existence, Unchanging and there is no Authority to resort to except for His.
Wa: And in the way that He proffers evidence about Himself…
Ulol ilm: so do the people who were given knowledge, who are from amongst the phenomenon of Creation (created) upon His Appearance that is nourished by His Attributes and His Names. And indeed, the witnessing of each thing is a returning towards His Witnessing so it is as if everything…
Qaiman: is made to be forever (because He has made it everlasting)…
Bil qist: with His Justice extended across the surface of the Universe from the beginning till the end because…
La ilaha: there is nothing that makes a thing appear…
Illa huwal Aziz: except The One who is Dominant, All Powerful
upon making all things appear…
Al Hakeem: The One who is Perfect in its nurturing and its management, these witnesses say with obedience and with love after they become steadfast in the rank of being worshippers.
64. This religion was made according to your nature
فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًۭا ۚ فِطْرَتَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّتِى فَطَرَ ٱلنَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا ۚ
لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ
ذَلِكَ ٱلدِّينُ ٱلْقَيِّمُ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
So set your face steadfastly to the faith, upright, made by Allah according to the nature Mankind was created upon.
There is no changing God’s Creation.
That is the correct religion but most people do not know it.
Surah Ar-Rum, Verse 30
Tafseer e Jilani:
And after you heard, O Messenger who completes the Message (peace be upon you), that guidance and being astray, indeed, both are entrusted to Me, The Greatest, The Most Exalted…
Faiqm wajhaka: be steadfast and firmly rooted by the focus of your heart, which is a special bestowing from Allah upon you, perfecting your perfection and purifying you from your limitations of being mortal and the shackles of your nature, so that you can reach the Place of One-ness, which is what you have been created for…
Liddini: in the religion that was sent upon you from your Lord, to teach you manners (ta’deebun) O Messenger who completes The Message (peace be upon you), and the ones who follow you and to reform your state (islaha-ka) and the states of your followers…
Haneefan: so you are the ones who turn away from the religions of falsehood and untrue perceptions in entirety. And be certain, O Messenger who completes The Message (peace be upon you), that indeed…
Fitratallaha allati fatarn naasa aliyha: this is the nature established by Allah upon which He has created Mankind and (the nature) set-up by Allah upon which they have been born, originally moulded, which stays in them forever because…
La tabdeela: it does not alter and it does not change and it does not transform…
Likhalq illah: Allah’s Creation. The One who is All-Wise, All Knowing and His Planning, which is set-up according to His Knowledge and Wisdom as He says, “My Decree does not change - Surah Qaf/29”…
Dalika Adeeno: this is the religion that was sent upon you from your Lord, O Messenger who completes The Message (peace be upon you), for safeguarding the original nature, mentioned above. This is the religion…
Al Qayyum: that is the Path that is straight, moderate and steadfast, which will connect to the One-ness of Allah, through this Path which is upright without crookedness and inclinations.
Wa liknna akthar anaasi: But most people, who have been created upon inability to be attentive and are forgetful…
La yalamoon: do not know the reality of this religion. And they do not understand its uprightness and its connection with Allah’s One-ness. So it is dutied upon you all, who follow the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), that you accept the faith and are obedient in everything from that Allah commands and that which He forbids you from.
66. What you want (in goodness) is only that which Allah wills
وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلْعَلَمِينَ
And you cannot will it unless Allah wills it.
Surah At-Takwir, Verse 29
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And the end of this chapter is this, that indeed…
Ma tasha’oona: what you will and what you choose in the way of your conscience and guidance for yourselves…
Illa ayyasha Allahu: is not except that which Allah wills for your guidance and gives you ability for with steadfastness and morality, as a favour upon you and His Bounty.
Because the deeds performed by you in your routine are only coming from Allah, generated by Him in their origin, because He is the Only One, Glory be to Him…
Rabbul Alimeen: The Sustainer of the Universe. There is no Sustainer present except Him and there is no Disposer of Affairs in the apparent realms except Him. And the demand of His Nurturing and making perfect and complete is fulfilled by guiding His Servants and granting them ability towards that which is best for them and what is the most suitable for their situation.
Then Ghaus Pak (ra) prays: “Dear Allah! Give us ability to do, by Your Bounty and Your Munificence, that which You love and that which pleases You from us, O Our Protector!
Continued at flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/51722302249/in/dateposted-...
Pencipta (Fāţir):18 - Dan orang yang berdosa tidak akan memikul dosa orang lain. Dan jika seseorang yang berat dosanya memanggil (orang lain) untuk memikul dosanya itu tiadalah akan dipikulkan untuknya sedikitpun meskipun (yang dipanggilnya itu) kaum kerabatnya. Sesungguhnya yang dapat kamu beri peringatan hanya orang-orang yang takut kepada azab Tuhannya (sekalipun) mereka tidak melihat-Nya dan mereka mendirikan sembahyang. Dan barangsiapa yang mensucikan dirinya, sesungguhnya ia mensucikan diri untuk kebaikan dirinya sendiri. Dan kepada Allahlah kembali(mu).
Continued from: www.flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/52649997760/in/datepos...
The Seed of Tauba
أسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ رَبي مِنْ كُلِ ذَنبٍ
وَأتُوبُ إلَيهِ
I ask forgiveness of my sins from Allah who is my Lord
and I turn towards Him.
توبوا من ذنوبكم و سوء أدبكم
هذه التوبة غرسي في أرض قلوبكم بناء أبنيه عندكم،
أنقض بناء الشيطان
و أبن بناء الرحمن
و ألحقكم بمولاكم و ربكم عزوجل
“Repent for your misdeeds and your inappropriate regard!
This repentance is my seed in the soil of your hearts
so that I will make the foundation of a building for you.
I will demolish the building of Shaitaan
and make a building of Allah Ar Rahman
and I will make you rejoin with your Maula and Rabb, your Master
and your Lord, Exalted is His Majesty.”
Ghaus Pak (ra)
Ahmed Javaid Sahib had said that identifying flaws and shortcoming of character and behaviour were essential. Just identify them, he had said. I realized why the emphasis on the exercise was heavy.
From that identification by the aql to make disappear ignorance of one’s own self would follow remorse. It would be inevitable. At least for the person who might reflect truthfully on how that feature of their personality had come as an obstacle between them and their Lord.
From that regret would be expressed tauba. The repentance would ask, insist, of forgiveness. A prayer would be uttered. A dua would save the day!
Only days ago I had come across one of the most powerful verses around forgiveness. Giving it was truly Allah Al Ghaffar’s Declaration of love as well as mercy. The former was for His Love (salutations and greetings upon the Mercy of the Universe by His Lord of the Universe). The latter was for his enemies. For it was offered before it was asked for!
First Subhanahu said He wouldn’t destroy them whilst Nabi Kareem (salutations and greetings upon Ar Rauf by Allah Ar Rauf) was amidst them even though that is what they deserved for rejecting him. A trial for them would become a trial for him. Instead then He would grant them leeway because they might seek forgiveness and so He would forgive them.
وَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِیُعَذِّبَهُمۡ وَأَنتَ فِیهِمۡۚ
وَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمۡ وَهُمۡ یَسۡتَغۡفِرُونَ
But Allah will not punish them while you (are) among them,
Allah will not punish them while they seek forgiveness.
Surah Al Anfal, Verse 33
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa ma kana Allahu li-yuaddibahum: And Allah has nothing to gain from punishing them, although they were deserving of intense punishment and an exemplary chastisement and destruction complete because of their refuting you and rejecting your Book…
Wa anta fi-him: whilst you are among them meaning that as long as you are among them and in their midst and in their places, then if Allah punished them, certainly it would afflict you like it would afflict them…
Wa: and if it became possible that We would choose you and save you in the moment of punishing them…
Ma kana Allahu mu’addibahum: Allah will still not punish them and will not intend to torment them and uproot them…
Wa hum yastaghfiroon: while they are supplicating before Him for forgiveness i.e. it is expected from them, despite their opposing imaan, faith that they might seek forgiveness in the future, unlike those nations who were destroyed before (because they would not ask for forgiveness ever).
It was extraordinary!
The Quran says that Subhanahu creates veils between Man and his heart when he is disobedient:
وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ ٱلْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِۦ
وَأَنَّهُۥٓ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
And know that Allah comes between Man and his heart,
and that to Him you will be gathered.
Surah Al Anfal, Verse 24
Wa’lamo annallaha: And be certain that Allah Al Muttali’u, The Perfect Informer, who knows what is hidden in His Servants…
Yahoolu: diverts and creates an envelope…
Bayna al mar’ay: between Man, the one who has structured himself in a human skeleton, which is specific upon on the fixture of true balance…
Wa qalbihi: and his qalb, the Seat of Recognition within the heart, which encompasses within it Allah Al Haqq, The Truth who is Allah Al Munazza, The One Purified of all, free of being imprisoned, and Allah Al Mubri’o, The One Above Everything in being encompassed or in any limitation, (He creates between Man and his qalb) many veils.
So these veils and coverings always remain, hanging, between Man and his qalb, so the scent of love and closeness cannot reach him, that scent which is Al Muwaddi’, which leads towards fana, dissolution which results in baqa, everlastingness.
And this opening of the doors of Divine Love and Closeness is received only with ikhlas, sincerity, and tasleem, surrender and tafweed, submission and tawakkal, reliance and tabbattal, detachment and Tauheed Al Musqit, One-ness which makes drop everything extra.
Wa: And over all…
Annahu: Indeed, He…
Ilayhi: towards him, Subhanahu and no one else but Him, will rise the shadows in dissolution and will rise the invalid tangibles…
Tuhsharoon: gathered, returned like shadows return to the Creator of Shadows.
That was my favourite image of myself, being a shadow returning to the Creator of Shadows.
Each choice was like a road that had a fork in it. Even when it overtly seemed like there was no option. One path was always of obedience to the nafs and Shaitaan, the other to hear and answer the call of the one sent to teach as the guide, the warner, the witness, the bringer of glad tidings, the sun lit; Nabi Kareem, who Ghaus Pak (ra) calls Al Mazhar Al Ilahaya Az Zaati, the appearance of the Essence of The Divine.
He, who was Allah’s Jamaal, Beauty (Allah Al Jameel pours his greetings and salutations upon him and his family) was the only one for whom Subhanahu deliberately uses a verb (singular when the dual exists in Arabic) in the Quran so as to render them one and not two when it came to the invitation towards His Tauheed, His One-ness.
“Because the calling of the Rasool (peace be upon him and his family) is in fact the calling of Allah Al Haqq…”
يَٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ
O you who believe!
Respond to Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to what gives you life.
Surah Al Anfal, Verse 24
Tafseer e Jilani
Then said Allah Subhanahu, as a call to the believers, as a reminder for them and as a teaching:
Ya ayyohalladina aamino: O ye who attained to faith, it is the requirement of your imaan, faith, to answer the Call of Allah and answer the call of His Rasool (peace be upon him and his family)…
Istajeebo lillahe: respond to Him, be obedient to what is His Command and His Order and stay away from what He forbids…
Wa lir-Rasool: and His Rasool (peace be upon him and his family) adopt his sunnat, practice, and his adaab, manners and his ikhlaq, etiquette.
Ida da’akum: When he calls you, any one of them, because the calling of the Rasool (peace be upon him and his family) is in fact the calling of Allah Al Haqq…
Lima yuhhyeekum: because he gives you life-giving messages from the Al Aloom Ad Dineeya, knowledges of religion and Al Ma’aaraf Al Haqeeqa, the recognitions of the realities, bearing fruits of Mukashafaat, unveilings and Mushahidaat, witnessings which had become faded for the people who were on the right path and the ones on the wrong path, both (i.e. forgotten by them both and unclear for them).
Nabi Kareem (salutations and greetings upon him and his family by their Lord God) was the reminder for all in the Universe. Those on the right path and those on the wrong. For both would forget again and again.
Ghaus Pak (ra) saying was the reason Rajab came into my focus last year. A 90 day cycle was unheard of in spirituality. 900 years of striving couldn’t ensure a result!
رجب شھر الزرع و شعبان شھر السقی و رمضان شھر الحصاد
و کل یحصد ما زرع و یجزی ما صنع
و من ضیع الزراعۃ ندم یوم حصادہ و احلف ظنہ مع سوء معادہ
Rajab is the month for sowing seeds, Sha’ban is the month for watering, and Ramadan is the month for reaping.
And all reap what they sow and will be rewarded for what they did.
And the one who wasted the (season of) planting regretted it on the day of harvest
and found it to be against what he thought would be the result.
Then the seeds had been about increased, never before performed, extra rituals of worship, nawafil. They were offered from the mind though, not the essence of my being, even though the intention to do them came out of a love for the Imam (as) in my heart.
This time I longed for my acts to be only be about adab and akhlaq, regard and manners, behaviour, character and morality.
Whether they were inspired by the most honoured Ahl e Bait, the family of Nabi Kareem (salutations and greetings upon them by Subhanahu), his companions or his followers who became the Friends of Allah. For there was only one standard that was in replication anyway.
“Glory be to Allah, whose praise should precede every writing and every speech!
May the blessings of Allah rest upon Muhammad, His Prophet and His Apostle, and on his family and companions, by whose guidance error is escaped!”
Imam Al Ghazali (ra)
At first I wanted my seeds to come from what I had heard were the foundational traits of Nabi Pak (salutations and greetings upon his perfection of manner by his Lord who raised him and his family such):
Haya – modesty.
Sakha – generosity.
Murrawwat – affection.
Tawadda’a – humility.
All took their root in sincerity. That sincerity of obedience and surrender was expressed in perfection by one.
قُلْ إِنِّىٓ أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصًۭا لَّهُ ٱلدِّينَ
Say, "Indeed, I, I am commanded that I worship Allah,
being sincere to Him in the religion.
Surah Az Zumar, Verse 11
Tafseer e Jilani
Then said Subhanahu, Exalted is He, commanding His Habeeb (salutations and greetings be upon him and his family by His Lord and His Angels) in order to guide him and to convey to His (other) ordinary worshippers, a thing He said that is specified for wisdom, a wisdom empty of the desires of the nafs of showing-off (of the self), only and only for wishing well and perfection (for others);
Qul: Say O Messenger who completes Messenger-hood (peace be upon you)…
Inni umirtu: Indeed I have been ordered from My Lord…
An a’buda Allaha: that I worship Allah as is His Right to be worshipped and be obedient to Him as His Right to be obeyed…
Mukhlisal lahu deen: bringing sincerity into the religion and offering surrender from myself in such a way that I make both, my obedience with sincerity and my surrender with sincerity, the means of reaching Him.
So that I gain recognition of Him as is His Right to be recognized and He pours upon my heart the purified waters of His Tauheed, One-ness and His Karamat, His Honour.
Waters from seas sweet!
But then Ghaus Pak (ra) told me what the seed should be. It was a seed of tauba.
“Repent for your misdeeds and your inappropriate regard!
This repentance is my seed in the soil of your hearts
so that I will make the foundation of a building for you.
I will demolish the building of Shaitaan
and make a building of Allah Ar Rahman
and I will make you rejoin with your Maula and Rabb, your Master
and your Lord, Exalted is His Majesty.”
If I chose repentance, then the seed wouldn’t even be mine. He had promised that he would become the seed. In the soil of my own heart. Shaitaan would lose influence over me as just he did over Amir Muawia (ratu). My remorse, my regret at all times would protect me from him.
The watering of that seed happens in Shabaan. It is the month that Nabi Kareem (salutations and greetings upon his mercy upon us and his family’s) calls his own. So I thought that perhaps he, himself, would be the water that is poured on that seed.
Like rain that Subhanahu describes thus:
Anzalna: We sent down from the Station of Our Generosity…
Mina: from…
As Sama’i ma’an tahooran: the skies, rain pure, utmost in purity, highest, extreme in its purpose (of purification).
The month of Ramadan, Subhanahu calls His Own. Fasting is for Him. It is the only ritual for which He makes Himself the reward. Could it be His Qurb?
It was making sense why Ghaus Pak (ra) only mentioned one seed and no other. In my spiritual journey that I write about incessantly, one thing had made crystal clear these past months. The relationship between possibilities and shirrk, the intertwining of taqwa and tauba.
What had been in my control all along, in all of my decisions, was the exercising of the don’ts. I did things because I didn’t want to do them anymore. I didn’t want to do them because I started to care about the consequences, the most imperative of which became Subhanahu’s Displeasure, His Ghadab. That only came because when the first time I was terrified of my Master’s displeasure. Before that I was unaware of the gravity of my actions careless about their consequences, forgetting both. I was ghafil.
The connection between taqwa and tauba, then I learnt, is that one lies within the other. From the refrain follows naturally the repentance for not doing it earlier. It comes because the forgiveness of Subhanahu is a “breeze of good news and glad tidings and spirituality.”
The Chosen Ones, the Extraordinary, they live in a state of tauba from the start. It in kneaded in their essence.
Ghaus Pak: “The one who was loved by Allah from the beginning, He makes them pure in the world from that which might distract him even for a single moment from His Being.”
The ordinary reach it by way of mindfulness.
قُلۡ یَـٰعِبَادِ ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ رَبَّكُمۡۚ
Say, "O My Servants those who attained to faith!
Be mindful of your Lord.”
Surah Az Zumar, Verse 10
Tafseer e Jilani
Qul: Say, Ya Akmal Ar Rusul (Allah sends blessings and salutations upon you since the beginning of Creation till the end), O Messenger who completes the Messenger-hood, give this message on Our Behalf, calling out to the selected sincere amongst my Servants…
Ya ibadi: O My Worshippers, by attaching them with His Essence making them special and honouring them…
Alladina aamano: those who attained to faith from amongst you in the One-ness of My Essence and My Appearance according to My Affairs and My Ever changing-ness in accordance with My Names and Attributes, the requirement of your faith is taqwa, mindfulness from the demands of your desires…
Ittaqu Rabbukum: be conscious of your Lord and stay away from what is forbidden by Him and what He has ordered prevented for you and characterize yourself with His Commands and know that He…
Stay away…from the forbidden, the prevented. It was a don’t!
It made me remember the beginning of the Quran. The second line of Al Baqarah. It said in total clarity; the Book was only a guidance for the one who was Muttaqi, who were conscious of being seen by Him at all times and therefore exercised restraint.
Since the verses in the Quran appear in the order of importance, in terms of a ranking it seemed to be; seeking refuge from Shaitaan, then praise of Subhanahu, the expression of gratitude, a supplication (all in Surah Fateha) and then taqwa, being in a constant state of mindfulness of Him. The start of Al Baqarah.
ذَٰلِكَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبُ لَا رَیۡبَۛ فِیهِۛ هُدࣰى لِّلۡمُتَّقِینَ
That (is) the book, there is no doubt in it, it is a guidance for the ones conscious of Allah.
Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 2
Tafseer e Jilani
Dalika al Kitab-u: That is the Book لَّا یَأۡتِیهِ ٱلۡبَـٰطِلُ مِنۢ بَیۡنِ یَدَیۡهِ وَلَا مِنۡ خَلۡفِهِۦۖ falsehood cannot approach it (the Quran) from before or from behind. The levels of its exaltedness are far from comprehension. It is the gatherer of the ranks of the Exalted Names and Attributes in the Realms of the Unseen and Seen. It is gradually revealed upon your qalb, O Akmal Ar Rusul, O Messenger who completes the Messenger-hood (salutations and greetings upon you and your family by your Lord), compiling in totality the order of the creation of the Universe from the beginning till the end, such that there is no inconsistency in it at all…
La raiba fihi: (such that) there is no possibility of doubt in it because, indeed, it is revealed from Us, its words and its meanings.
Words: Ghaus Pak (ra) means that they make helpless the most prominent of the orators and the most famous of the well-spoken from competing with the shortest verse of it, even though their claims were boastful.
Where as the meaning, it is inclusive of the totality of all the states of realities seen and secrets unseen, which were and which will be in both the worlds, this and the next and it is not possible to know it (that totality) and describe what all is in it, in terms of its wonderful patterns, except for the one who is the knower of the Unseen.
And We only sent it upon you, O one who is deserving of the matter of Messenger-hood and Vice-regency, so you (salutations and blessings upon your qalb that receives and reveals the Quran) can guide by it towards the Ocean of Divine Reality and you can guide through it also the one who is obedient to you from the ones who are walking in bewilderment in the wilderness of being astray, because in it…
Huda-n: is guidance, great…
Lil Muttaqeen: for the ones who safe-guard with compliance to His Commands and avoid what He disallows for their selves from the impurities of sins forbidden with true purification and a reaching towards the real rank and destination.
Safe-guards, avoids, disallows – don’ts!
I could not become grateful. I could only decide I didn’t want to be ungrateful. I could not become generous. I could only decide not to be a miser. I could not decide I will be patient. I could only decide I didn’t want to be impatient. I couldn’t decide to be selfless. I could only want to not be selfish. I couldn’t become sensitive. I could just desire to not be insensitive. Even in rituals, I could not decide to pray the two
Sunnah of Fajr without fail. I could only intend to not miss it.
Each time I exercised a don’t, mindful of it, conscious of it like the Imam Ghazali (ra) became, in my being rather than my mind, I reaped a fruit. I was rewarded for the taqwa, for the restraint. When I failed in the don’t, I felt regret.
The best example of in following something Maula e Kayinaat (as) said which was also the most difficult. “Even if a man came to you riding on a red camel (the most expensive of the time) and asks you for something, don’t let him leave empty handed.”
He said empty handed for us. He probably gave the man everything he possessed!
I could not tell myself to always say yes to everyone who asked me for money. That would never happen. My nafs, which I trained to be a miser, would never allow it. Most often I found that when I didn’t give many people anything at all I thought nothing of it.
But if I consciously decided I didn’t want to say no to anyone, then I would at least always give them something. A little, a lot, something. Why? Because the promise was to myself. If I broke it, I was a liar. If I didn’t, I felt remorse. If for nothing else, then for being a liar.
Any change that came within me was the fruit of emulating a practice of Nabi Kareem (salutations and greetings upon him and his beloved family) or a Prophet (as) or a Friend of God (ra). Because they did it and they told me to do it. They told me how to do it. When I connected the act with them, the manner of executing it became “excellent.”
It came with ease.
فَأَمَّا مَنۡ أَعۡطَىٰ وَٱتَّقَىٰ
وَصَدَّقَ بِٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰ
فَسَنُیَسِّرُهُۥ لِلۡیُسۡرَىٰ
Then as for (him) who gives and is mindful,
and believes in the best,
then We will ease him towards the ease.
Surah Al Layl, Verses 5-8
Tafseer e Jilani
Fa amma man aa’ta: So as for the one who gives from that which he was given from Al Haqq from rizq, sustenance, in (both) form and meaning, along with khushu, humility and khudu, submission and khuloos, sincerity, of intention and inner most feelings and different kinds of obedience and worship commanded for him…
Wa attaqa: and is mindful in totality of that which is forbidden and that which is prohibited about which Allah’s warnings of restraint have come in them…
Wa saddaqa bil husna: and he affirms the limitless demands of the Names of Allah and the effects of His Exalted Attributes which can never be counted and never be enumerated…
Fa sanuyassirruhu: then We will prepare for him and give him ability…
Lil yusra: for ease towards the way, which is easy, connecting towards the goal of Tauheed, One-ness and Ma’rifa, Divine Recognition, that brings deliverance from the darkness of doubts and the shadows of paranoia.
Tauba was my wish to not be the same person. It was my wish that I was dying to change. It was my reward for being forgiven.
Forgiveness
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّی ظَلَمۡتُ نَفۡسِی فَٱغۡفِرۡ لِی فَغَفَرَ لَهُۥۤۚ
إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلۡغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِیمُ
He, the Prophet Musa (as) said, "My Lord! Indeed, I [I] have wronged my soul, so forgive me."
Then He, Subhanahu, forgave him.
Indeed He, He (is) the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Surah Al Qasas, Verse 16
Tafseer e Jilani
Qala: He said, the Prophet Musa (as), in humility before Allah Al Haqq, returning to Him, repentant of that which happened from him, pleading with Him with only regret…
Rabbi: O my Lord who raises me with the different kinds of Lutf, Affection and Karam, Generosity between me and my enemy and purifies me from the distress that is causing me suffering xxx by the demand of Your Jood, Your Bounty…
Inni: Indeed, I, with the steps taken in this matter loathsome…
Dalamtu nafsi: wronged my own self and offer it to you for Your Punishment because of the exiting from the demands of Your Boundaries by the killing of this man without the permission of the Shari’a…
Faghfir li: so forgive me, O my Lord, my sin after that I repented before you and returned to you from my sin, remorseful and seeking refuge, towards Your Door, returning…
Faghafara lahu: so his Lord forgave him his sin after he returned to him sincerely…
Innahu huwa al Ghafoor-u: Indeed, He is Al Ghafoor, The Forgiver of all sins of His Servants after they returned to him, in humility, disappointed, as losers…
Ar Rahim: He is Merciful for them accepting their tauba, repentance, after they were sincere in it and after he repented and returned about what was they did in error.
Ahmed Javaid Sahib said in a lecture once that a relationship loses its meaning when the emotion attached to it disappears. It is the emotion that defines the rights and duties attached to any bond between two people. With a younger person, its shafqat, kindness. With an older its ehtaram, respect. With a contemporary, its muhabbat, love.
Hence, he says, the absence of the emotion makes it devoid of ehsaas, feeling. Then it is simply rendered to be a delusion. It has no existence. It bears no reality.
It made sense. That was why extreme carelessness and indifference, total unawareness could come to exist in behaviour. No matter how paramount the relationship. Why akhlaq experienced sudden death in relationships that should have been life-long. There was no longer a fear of consequence from displeasing the other. The relationship being void of emotion is what allowed that indifference.
What kills emotion? I don’t know. So I asked Qari Sahib.
He told me this, “The first thing is that Allah Subhanahu places the inclination for another in one’s heart. It cannot be created. It cannot be caused. When it is pure, it is a blessing and it is endowed. It is the people themselves that make the feeling leave.
One reason is the tongue and what comes forth from it. That is from the prodding of Shaitaan in terms of anger etc. Another is lust that corrupts that feeling. For the world or others in relationships which are forbidden. Again Shaitaan.
The other even more important reason emotions become numb, appear dead is ingratitude.”
The effect of the blessing had to appear, be seen.
If you hide the blessings from Allah Azzo Jal and did not express gratitude for it, He will sieze it from you.
Those who were in a state of mindfulness of their akhlaq, its effect on others, taufeeq, ability, was granted. They became of the Saliheen; the ones who corrected and reformed themselves.
It was perfectly expressed in the prayer of the Prophet Yusuf (as) that I had been saying for months not realizing the effect it was having on my life:
تَوَفَّنِى مُسْلِمًۭا وَأَلْحِقْنِى بِٱلصَّلِحِينَ رَبِّ
Cause me to die as a Muslim, and join me with the righteous."
Surah Yusuf, Verse 101
Tafseer e Jilani
Then prayed Hazrat Yousuf (as) for himself and he said softly to his Lord, a prayer, that uttered from him only with wisdom, intellect and reasoning, with his invocation:
Rabbi: O my Lord who raises me, by Your Unmerited Affection and Your Bounty, with different kinds of guidance and favour that you have granted me…
…
Tawwafini: Make me die and take my soul…
Muslim-an: surrendering, entrusting all my matters to you…
Walhiqni: and enjoin me, with Your Special Favour…
Bi saliheen: with the righteous ones who are the ones who reformed their selves in this life and the Hereafter until they achieved success from You with the honour of meeting You.
The same blessed Prophet who taught me that self-deceit would only yield me living like the dead. Unable to see, unable to hear. Veil upon veil upon veil. I had to stop absolving my nafs, no matter the circumstance. It was
Shaitaan’s trap: “rationalizations.” In any situation with anyone, I had to take its failing upon my self. Regardless of who did what. Regardless of innocence and guilt.
No one offered the proof of that like Sayyadna Yusuf (as).
وَمَآ أُبَرِّئُ نَفْسِىٓ ۚ
إِنَّ ٱلنَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌۢ بِٱلسُّوٓءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّىٓ ۚ
إِنَّ رَبِّى غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ
"And yet I am not trying to absolve myself.
Indeed, the nafs Ammara is a certain inciter of evil,
unless my Lord bestows Mercy.
Indeed, my Lord (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
Surah Yusuf, Verse 53
Tafseer e Jilani
The he, Hazrat Yusuf (as) said:
Wa ma ubarri’o: And I do not absolve and do not justify…
Nafsi: my nafs, my self, from furataat, excessiveness and ghafalaat, forgetfulness and shameful thoughts and repulsive deeds according to the demands of the organs of lust and animalistic desires and how can I absolve myself and justify it?
Inna an nafsa: Indeed the nafs, the base self, that has been embodied in the nature of human beings…
La-Ammaarat-un: the forceful commanding of which is by its nature towards …
Bis su’: wrong-doing and fasaad, corruption and its focus upon that whenever it’s free and is its nature…
Illa ma rahima Rabbi: except for the one upon whom is bestowed the Mercy of my Lord i.e. Allah protects that nafs by His Endless Mercy and Affection from its transgressions and the whisperings of Satan towards it.
Inna Rabbi: Indeed my Lord, who has raised me with safeguarding from sin and with virtuousness…
Ghafoor-an: is All Forgiving of that which has happened from me from the occurences of my nafs…
Raheem-un: is All Merciful. He bestows Mercy towards me with His Fazal, Bounty and He preserves me with His Lutf, Kindness, from those things that make me distant from His Kunuf, Protection and His Jawaar, Safety.
The idea of focusing upon what not to do yielded a revelation. What applies to my own self also applied to a relationship with another.
If there was a problem that emerged in it I should not focus on what I could do but rather on what I should NOT do. The first took its root in desperation. The overtures, when unreturned, caused heartache and agonizing disappointment. The doing of the action caused the birth of hope that it would be reciprocated. It created the expectation that it would be noticed, appreciated.
I knew the drill. It would begin with me thinking of myself as “good” courtesy of Shaitaan’s imprisoning of my nafs with that whispering. Never would I reach the realization that my expectation of an outcome, of a change in another, was the cardinal sin; shirrk!
I had just experienced that with the young man in Karachi with whom I exercised patience simply but vowing not to be impatient. With a prayer, calling upon Subhanahu as my Musta’aan as did Hazrat Yaqoub (as) and leaving the matter with Him for resolve.
Along side the dua I practiced the attribute of murrawwat from the akhlaq from the blessed person who Allah’s Beloved (salutations and greetings upon the one declared the guide of the Universe by Allah Al Hadi). His instruction to not demean others publicly. There was no one else from the world then left in the equation. It was me, my guide and my Lord.
Then ability was granted. The nafs could not grant ability. It only stoked its egoism when it took on missions. Ability was only granted by Allah Al Mutawaffiq, The Granter of taufeeq. Sometimes it arrived with simply a tear that held in it helplessness. In the utterance of a prayer in the words of the Chosen!
Every time my nafs tried to do something good, it lasted but for a short time. Then I regressed. My qalb changed and then changed back again. What promised steadfastness, stability was up to The Divine. Hence the prayer of Nabi Kareem (salutations and greetings upon his heart):
يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكَ
O Changer of Hearts forever changing!
Make my qalb steadfast upon your religion.
When I pondered upon Ghaus Pak (ra) being the seed in my heart I felt overwhelmed. Who would have thought my heart would one day become hallowed ground!
The blessed of Nabi Kareem (salutations and greetings upon that name) only appears in the Quran four times. When I came across an instance in writing this piece where it did, I was excited to study the context of its appearance.
وَٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَءَامَنُوا۟ بِمَا نُزِّلَ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدࣲ وَهُوَ ٱلۡحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمۡ كَفَّرَ عَنۡهُمۡ سَیِّءَاتِهِمۡ وَأَصۡلَحَ بَالَهُمۡ
And those who believe and do righteous deeds, and believe in what is revealed to Muhammad (salutations and greetings upon him and his deeds),
and it (is) the truth from their Lord,
He will remove from them their misdeeds, and relieve their concerns.
Surah Muhammad, Verse 2
Tafseer e Jilani
Walladina aamano: And those who attained to imaan, faith in Allah and in His Rasool (salutations and greetings upon him and his honoured family by their Lord)…
Wa: and along with that…
Aamilo salihaat: do righteous deeds persistently, that create closeness for them with Allah…
Wa aamilu ala bima nuzzila ala Muhammad: and believe in what was revealed upon Muhammad (salutations and greetings upon his blessed name) i.e. in the totality of what has been revealed to him…
Wa: and they attest to all that is descent upon him…
Huwa al haqq: it is the truth, truthful according to the happenings, (the truth that is) descending…
Mir Rabbihim: from their Lord, without doubt and confusion…
Kaffara: He erases and removes…
Anhum: from them, Subhanahu…
Sayyiatihim: their bad deeds i.e. their consequences and their punishment from them…
Wa aslaha: and He reforms what was attached to them (those sinful deeds), and He changes the consequences that follow…
Baalahum: in their states of being i.e. He makes their states the best in religion and in the world according to the measure of this world and the Hereafter and He compensates them with the best of rewards.
Wa aslaha: He, Subhanahu, reforms…
The definition of aslaha, to reform, was different when it was Subhanahu doing the reforming for His Servant. It was the reward of deeds that were mindful of disobedience, thus allowing closeness. It was the reward of believing in His Seal of Prophet-hood (salutations and greetings upon his noor). Sins would be erased, their consequences would be removed, they would change so that states changed. To become the best!
Subhan Allah!
One page that would keep opening for me at the shrines was from the end of Surah Al Mo’minoon. It was always the last page. I kept translating different verses from it until I reached the last verse. It was a supplication that Subhanahu was teaching His Beloved (salutations and greetings upon the mercy of the Universe and his blessed family by His Lord Ar Raheem).
It became my dua!
وَقُل رَّبِّ ٱغۡفِرۡ وَٱرۡحَمۡ وَأَنتَ خَیۡرُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِینَ
And say, "My Lord! Forgive and have mercy,
and You are the Best of those who show mercy."
Surah Al Mo’minoon, Verse 118
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And after that Subhanahu made it certain, the success for the Mo’mineen, the believers, Al Muwwahideen, who are certain in the One-ness of Allah, in the beginning of this Surah and He deprived the Kafireen, the deniers of truth, Al Mushrikeen, the ones who associate others with Allah in the end (of the Surah)…
Qul: Say O Akmal Ar Rusul, O Messenger who completes the Messenger-hood (greetings and salutations upon him and his family by His Allah who loves him), educating everyone who considers you his leader and follows in your footsteps and warning them as well of this and reminding them…
Rabbi: O my Lord, who raised me by your Kunf, Protection and Jawar, Safe Guarding…
Ighfir: forgive me and hide for me my selfish, egoistic self from my inner eyes…
Warham: and have mercy upon me by the negation of the essence of my nature and dissolve it in Your Essence.
Wa anta: And You with Your Essence and Your Names and Your Attributes…
Khair ur Rahimeen: are the Best of the Merciful, who are also demands of Your Attributes and reflections of Your Names and everything is with You and from You and there is no one who is Merciful except You and there is no Lord for me other than You.
For the first time I noticed that ask did not have in it a time frame. It was a plea for now as well as the Day of Judgement. It was a plea for now!
Normally in my translations of the tafseer of the verses, Qari Sahib and I never got into how Ghaus Pak (ra) starts and ends the exegesis of each Surah. There would be the opening section addressing the ones especially chosen by Allah Subhanahu. At the end would then be a section addressing the ordinary.
For some reason, Qari Sahib sent me the closing section of Surah Al Mo’minoon and we translated it.
Khatim as Surah – Al Mo’minoon
“O Muhammadi (his servant)! Upon you, as Al Mutahaqqiq, the one steadfast upon the station of worship, is compulsory this prayer (above) which you were made to hear by Allah Al Haqq through the tongue of your Prophet (greetings and salutations upon him and his family O Beloved by your Lord who chose his words) and be forever in its utterance, especially in your seclusion and after your prayers, determined upon it, holding on to this firmly.
Hear this prayer with acceptance and willingness until it becomes rooted in your heart and be trained in it till your state speaks through it without help from your tongue.
And when you are certain and settled in this rank, you will have completed the station of worship.
So for you, after that the progression of your worship is perfected by taufeeq, ability, granted from Allah and love from Him (you will reach) towards the rank of dissolution in Allah and being everlasting in His Permanence.
And this will not be completed except by the disappearance of your nature and vanishing of your personality and your being (an ordinary) human, until it is dropped from you, your personality completely and your individuality is dissolved overall.
And at this point you will be successful by how much you will be fated in success and you will reach what you are ordained to reach and there is no purpose except Allah and no end except Him.
It was comforting that all I had to do is bring a verse in to my state. Be in synch with the ask in it with the sincerity of my heart. That was easy; I awaited forgiveness. I was desperate for my selfish ego to be hidden from me. I wanted my tabyat, the acquired nature to be dissolved, to entirely disappear.
I memorized the prayer and its utterance came forth from my tongue through my days and in my nights.
The other prayer that had impacted my life had come by way of Imam Zain ul Abedin (as). After I had heard that his prayers “are the saplings for nisbat, association, with Nabi Pak’s (salutations and greetings upon him and his family by Allah Al Wudood) duas, I asked Qari Sahib if he had the book mentioned in the lecture; It was called Saheefa e Sajjadia.
He did and he sent it to me. It was in pdf format. I could barely read anything, the print was so small. I decided to do what I always do. Go to a random page and see what came up for me.
Almost all the prayers were long spanning several lines on an entire page. On the one I landed, the title was “The prayer for his own self and his loved ones in his family and his friends.”
On the translated Urdu page was a paragraph break. The first line of that paragraph was the supplication I picked and it was this:
اللَّهُمَّ أَغْنِنَا عَنْ هِبَةِ الْوَهَابِيْنَ بِهِبَتِكَ،
وَاكْفِنَا وَحْشَةَ الْقَاطِعِين بِصِلَتِكَ،
حَتّى لا نَرْغَبَ إلَى أحَد مَعَ بَذْلِكَ،
وَلاَ نَسْتَوْحِشَ مِنْ أحَد مَعَ فَضْلِكَ
Allahuma aghnina an hibbat il wahhabiyaani bi-hibatika
wakfina wahshat-il qaatiyeena bi silatika hatta la narghaba ila ahdim ma’ bi-dalika
wa la nastauhisha min ahdim ma’ fadlika
My first focus was upon the words that took their root in the Exalted Names of Allah. One was in the 99, Al Ghani. I looked up the exact meaning to understand the plea. What was I asking for myself when I said, ‘Aghnina - Make us ghani…?’
Ghani: From the root gha-noon-yeh which has the following classical Arabic connotations: to be free from wants or needs, to be self-sufficient, independent, to be able to do without help from others, to be content, satisfied, flourishing.
The other Beautiful Name was Al Kafi also meaning The Sufficient One as in He is Sufficient for all His Servants’ needs.
O Lord!
Make us free of the need of being gifted by others with only being granted by You
and make us self-sufficient from being melancholy because of the cutting off of ties by
others with the attachment of Your Being,
until we do not ask anything from anyone else because of it (that Gifting and Attachment)
and we do not ever feel the misery of loneliness because of anyone as a resut of Your Bounty upon us.
Ameen summa Ameen summa Ameem
I felt elated!
The universality of the prayers of Subhanahu’s Chosen always touched my heart. The pronoun was always, without fail, “us.” The words would be spoken by one but it would be asked for all of Mankind. No one was left outside. Everybody was included in the circle of humanity.
There is no such thing as coincidence in Islam. Everything is in the Knowledge of Allah Al Aleem. Where we land is a function of our choices, courtesy of our free will. Those choices are ours. The outcome is just pre-known and recorded in the Lauh e Mahfooz, the Tablet of Fate. That is what the Arif is gifted access to. All he has to do is glance at it whenever he wishes for anyone.
Imam Zain ul Abedin’s (as) prayer was a God-send, there is no doubt about that. I started memorizing it in Arabic. My need was certainly captured in it perfectly. Other cutting off ties suddenly appeared like a blessing instead of a trial. The closing of doors was necessary, as Ghaus Pak (ra) had said, for the Greatest Door of Subhanahu to open.
A mushrik would never be allowed any nearness at all. A person with ugly manners would never come close to it. Those people who were mean to me were making me in turn be mean to them. I hated that the most about being around them. The sarcasm that would spill from my tongue, the barbs impolite, the impatience rude. It was a nightmare. That a month ago my nafs, knowing that would be its behaviour, still pined for!
The thing about truth is that whenever it appears it challenges the status quo, whatever it might be. That is the Sunnah of Nabi Kareem (salutations and greetings upon him and his family and those who gained imaan, faith, by bowing in obedience to him. Love is the purest form of truth. That is why the rank of the beloved is the highest in the rungs of spirituality.
Al Fath Ar Rabbani:
“You are not of the ones who are without fear (as in the ones who don’t feel it) because without deed, the rote memorization of knowledge is all you possess. Therefore you cannot be an inheritor of the Prophets. Their inheritance only comes from knowledge and deed accompanied by sincerity.
Be in a state of awareness of your station and do not move towards that which is has not been apportioned for you.
Be in agreement with that has been destined for you by Allah Azzo Jal in your fate. If you do that, for sure, He will grant you ability and bestow kindness upon you and lift the burdens from your head and will treat you with an attitude of softness in this world and the Hereafter.”
A promise!
“When the imaan, the faith, of the Mo’min, the believer, becomes strong only then he is given the title of Sahib e Iqaan, the person of certainty. When that iqaan becomes strong, he is called the Arif, the one who knows Allah. When his knowledge becomes strong, he is named Muhibb, the lover. And when that love becomes steadfast, he is called the Mehboob, the beloved.”
Each time love appeared in my life, it forced me to change. Luckily I submitted to that change because I loved love. It’s swooning effect, its joy, its appearance. Even when later it almost always turned out to be an illusion. I was always overcome by it so I had no interest in preserving whatever version of myself I was then. I was in submission to it.
Yet I practiced my faith taking submission to my Lord who created me for granted. Even though it always formed the first layer of my identity.
I started reading about my faith fervently in my 30s but nothing changed in my behaviour till I went to Iraq. Till I went to Imam Ali (as), the Door of the City of Knowledge. That’s why I tell anyone and everyone I care for. If they want a relationship with Allah and His Beloved (salutations and greetings upon him and his family eternally) that possesses in it an ever evolving truth, an appearance before Maula e Ali (as) is the first step. It is incumbent.
He is the one who opens the door for knowledge to meet deed.
Rajab is his month. As I pray my new-found prayers, I wish for my identity to be shed and my states to be altered in it.
Forever!
I couldn’t help but think that I was brought full circle to a beginning. A thought that began in Damascus on the roof of a hotel, staring at a mountain was meant to show me that my thoughts, almost of them were mere imkaan, possibilities.
Each one reflected the state of my heart which was like a cupboard stacked with idols of hopes and statues of expectations. All of which were coated in ill-will. Both were flip sides of the same coin of shirrk!
And only two broke idols. Then or now!
As recorded by Allama Haysmi (ra) in Majma’ az Zawaid:
Imam Ali (as) narrates: “I accompanied Rasool Allah (salutations and greeting upon him and his family) until we reached the Ka’aba. Then Rasool Allah (salutations and greeting upon him and his family) stood upon my shoulders.
I tried to stand up and Rasool Allah (salutations and greeting upon him and his family) felt the weakness in me so he said, “Sit.”
I sat and he came down and said again, “You stand upon my shoulders,” so I climbed his shoulders and stood up.
Then I felt that if I wanted to, I could hold onto the edges of the sky.
I reached upwards inside the Ka’aba and there was a statue there of copper and bronze. I started taking it apart from the left and the right and from the front and back, until I had successfully dismantled it.
Nabi Kareem (salutations and greeting upon him and his family most eminent in the blessings of Allah) said, “Throw it,” so I threw it. Then I broke it into pieces the way glass is broken into pieces. Then I descended and he and I left the Ka’aba without coming across anyone.”
Only two are our friends.
إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَهُمْ رَكِعُونَ
Your only ally is Allah and His Messenger, and those who believe, and those who establish prayer and give zakat and they are those who bow down in prayer.
Surah Al Maida’, Verse 55
Except that the verse was sent down in praise of one person’s deed:
“Huzoor Ghaus Pak (ra) says the verse is revealed for Maula Ali (may Allah gives honour to his countenance), when a beggar asked him (for alms) while he was in ruku’, bowing in prayer, and he loosened his ring so that it dropped (for him to take).”
Tafseer e Jilani
Then when Allah, Exalted is He, forbade the Mo’mineen from friendships with the Kuffar, the infidels, and love towards them and Allah, in emphasis, decided to inform them as to who is deserving of friendship and love and the reality of the two, He said…
Inna walliyyukum Allah: Indeed, Allah is your Friend, The One who is in charge of your matters as related to all kinds of ordinary love…
Wa Rasooluhu: and so is His Messenger (peace be upon him), who is His Vice-regent second to Him, also in charge…
Walladina aamino: and those who brought faith in Allah with a special love (extraordinary) because of their following the Prophet (peace be upon him) and they…
Alladina yuqeemoona: are the one who are forever…
As salat: in prayer that brings one close to Allah’s Essence…
And yu’toona az zakata: and they give charity which cleanses their batin, inner being, from focus on anything other than Allah…
Wa: in the state of…
Hum rak’ioon: bowing in their prayer.
The Imam’s prayer brought one closer to Allah’s Essence. The emulation of his charity cleansed the batin from shirrk.
The perfect manifestation of spirituality, jurisprudence, akhlaq – morality, character, behaviour, all stemmed from them and theirs. Whether they were the family and lineage by blood or companions or through the spiritual silsilas, all linked together in a chain from Master to disciple and so on.
One person of utmost importance before Subhanahu is Syeda Bibi Zainab (as). She was what made Damascus Paradise, the title given to the city by her beloved grand-father (salutations and greetings upon the life of the Universe and his honoured family) years before her entrance into it.
She was the reason the city was enclosed in a dome of Divine Mercy that brought souls into their most exalted state, Mutma’inna, effortlessly. I knew she was the reason that I was shown how that state of contentedness could come to exist elsewhere and everywhere, even for the ordinary.
That is what I realized from all the verses where Allah Al Muqtadir declares that He only does what He wills and nothing impedes in that.
He purifies whom He wills from Shaitaan.
وَلَكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُزَكِّى مَن يَشَآءُ ۗ
…but Allah purifies whom He wills.
Surah An-Nur, Verse 21
Wa lakinn Allah: But Allah Ta’ala, the One who manages the affairs of His Servants…
Yuzzaki: inserts sincerity and purifies them from the traps of Satan and his evil promptings…
Mayyasha: whom so ever He wills, by virtue of His Wisdom and His Control by which He forms the human being…
He guides and misguides who he wills as a function of their obedience to His Beloved (salutations and greetings upon him and his softness by his Lord who keep him and his family in His Eyes at all times):
فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُضِلُّ مَن يَشَآءُ وَيَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُۖ
فَلَا تَذْهَبْ نَفْسُكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسَرَتٍۚ
For verily, Allah lets him go astray who wills to go astray, just as he guides him that wills to be guided.
Hence, O Allah’s Habeeb (salutations of peace be upon you and your family eternally),
don’t let your sorrow over them destroy you.
Surah Fatir, Verse 8
Fa Innallaha: The One who possess all Honour (Al-Mutazziz), who has Supreme Authority and Majesty, who controls all He wants…
Yudillu: He makes (some) wayward from the Path of Tauheed, according to His Wrath and according to His Majesty…
Mayya sha’: those of His Creation who are disobedient, sinking them in waywardness and making them lost…
Wa yahdi maayya sha’: and He guides and gives guidance (to others), for indeed, this is what is asked for as help by them first of all. This (Decision) is a function only and only of Allah’s Will and His Choice. Nothing is allowed to interrupt that or become involved in it in any way whatsoever.
Fa la tadhab nafsuka: So don’t exhaust yourself, O Beloved (peace be upon him), and don’t be a cause of your own extreme anguish and torment…
Alaihim: over the ones who are astray, though you love for them guidance and wish it for them…
Hasaraat: feeling sad for them and sorry for them, pining over this wish of yours for them again and again feeling that sorrow for them, layering grief upon grief because of their waywardness and refusal to accept guidance.
The exercise of my don’ts. That was the only hope for my obedience.
In repeating the meaning of the verse again Ghaus Pak (ra) says for emphasis:
“For that person who thinks his sin is goodness and thinks the deed is good for his nafs and believes it to be correct, all the time being unaware that it is in fact falsehood. This is the reason he has turned from the Right Path, thus totally distancing himself from guidance.
And you, O Beloved Messenger (peace be upon him) who completes The Message, will you torture yourself over them in sorrow wondering all the whole; “Why don’t they accept guidance and why don’t they bring faith?” Indeed, Allah makes astray those He wishes to make astray and guides those He wishes to guide. So don’t feel badly for them.”
The verses went on and on. In reference to every aspect of life. It was Subhanahu’s Will to bestow His Rahma, Mercy, Fazal, Bounty, Rizq, livelihood, Noor, His Light, Taqwa, His Consciousness. Darajaat, ranks of closeness leading to Him, Nasr, His Help, Huda, His Guidance, Sama’, inner hearing, Baseera, seeing from the eyes of the heart, Izza, honour in both the worlds upon whoever He wants, whenever He wishes. It was a sustenance complete, mental, emotional, physical, material and spiritual and it was for a person as well as their family.
If heaven and hell are states, as Iqbal says, hell is possibilities. Heaven is surrender.
Thus I come to await Rajab this year like no other month and the 13th like no other day I have ever waited for before. It will begin with asking Allah Al Haailo, The Only One who comes between, to be the barzakh, the separation of mercy between my states of being a Mo’min and my states of being a Kafir. I was both the seas, salty and sweet.
It will end with the last verse of Surah Al Baqarah, the series of prayers gifted to The Beloved (salutations and greetings upon him and his family who are the source of Allah’s Forgiveness in the Universe).
َعَن ابْن عَبَّاس قَالَ: بَيْنَمَا جِبْرِيلُ قَاعِدٌ عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سَمِعَ نَقِيضًا مِنْ فَوْقِهِ فَرَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ فَقَالَ: «هَذَا بَابٌ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فُتِحَ الْيَوْمَ لَمْ يُفْتَحْ قَطُّ إِلَّا الْيَوْمَ فَنَزَلَ مِنْهُ مَلَكٌ فَقَالَ هَذَا مَلَكٌ نَزَلَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ لَمْ يَنْزِلْ قَطُّ إِلَّا الْيَوْمَ فَسَلَّمَ وَقَالَ أَبْشِرْ بِنُورَيْنِ أُوتِيتَهُمَا لَمْ يُؤْتَهُمَا نَبِيٌّ قَبْلَكَ فَاتِحَةُ الْكِتَابِ وَخَوَاتِيمُ سُورَةِ الْبَقَرَةِ لَنْ تَقْرَأَ بِحَرْفٍ مِنْهُمَا إِلَّا أَعْطيته» . رَوَاهُ مُسلم
Hazrat Ibn e Abbas (ratu) narrates:
Hazrat Gibrael (as) was sitting near the Prophet (salutations and greetings upon him and his family) when they heard a loud sound above them so they turned to look up and he said,
“This door has been opened for the first time in the skies and an angel has descended from it.”
Hazrat Gibrael (as) said, “This angel has not come to the Earth ever before.”
He, the angel, presented his salam and said, “Glad tidings come for you with two nur, Divine Lights, that have been sent only for you and not for any Prophet before you. Al Fatiha and the ending verses of Surah Al Baqarah.
Not will a word of them be uttered that will not be granted.
Rabbana…O my Lord who raises me with His Lutf, Affection and Fazl, Bounty…
رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذۡنَاۤ إِن نَّسِینَاۤ أَوۡ أَخۡطَأۡنَاۚ
"Our Lord! (Do) not take us to task if we forget or we err.
Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 286
Tafseer e Jilani
Then when he pointed, Subhanahu, towards the secret behind obligations, He willed towards the performance of what was commanded to do, which is not possible except by His granting ability and a pulling from Him. For this purpose He has directed the dua, prayer and ista’anat, the asking of help and munajaat, the silent supplication in His Words:
Rabbana: O Our Lord, The One who raises us by His Lutf, Kindness, for the acceptance of Your Obligations (upon us) so we can reach towards the Atmosphere of Your Tauheed, One-ness and Your Glorification…
La tu-aakhid-na in naseena: do not take us to task for being forgetful about performing what You commanded us to do because of (the delusions of) our possibilities…
Au akhtaana: or our erring in it because of the lack of our understanding.
رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحۡمِلۡ عَلَیۡنَاۤ إِصۡرࣰا كَمَا حَمَلۡتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِینَ مِن قَبۡلِنَاۚ
رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلۡنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦۖ
وَٱعۡفُ عَنَّا وَٱغۡفِرۡ لَنَا وَٱرۡحَمۡنَاۤۚ
أَنتَ مَوۡلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرۡنَا عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرِینَ
And (do) not lay upon us a burden like that (which) You laid on those who (were) from before us.
Our Lord! [And] (do) not lay on us what we don’t have (the) strength (to bear).
And pardon us, and forgive us and have mercy on us.
You (are) our Protector, so help us against the people - [the] disbelievers.
Tafseer e Jilani
Rabbana wa la tahmil alayna isran: O Our Lord, do not lay upon us a burden of a veil thick and a curtain heavy which blinds the vision of Our quloob, the station within Our hearts that recognizes You, from the comprehension of Nur, the light of Your Tauheed, Your One-ness…
Kama hamalta-hu alladina min qabli-na Rabbana wa la tuhammil-na: the way you burdened the ones who came before us. Our Lord, do not burden us with the exhaustion of our ritualistic exercises and the hardships of obligations intensive due to the filth of imkaan, possibilities and ambiguities in relationships…
Ma la taqata lana bihi wa’fu: (exhaustion and hardship) that we don’t have the strength to bear and remove them, erase (them), by Your Favour…
An-na: for us (these burdens) from the demands of the characteristics of possibilities (in our nature)…
Waghfir lana: and forgive us i.e. conceal for us, O our Lord, our selfishness and ego-ism and the true nature of our personality from our own eyes….
Wa: and after that…
Irham-na: have mercy upon us with Your Mercy Expansive.
Anta Maulana: You are Our Lord and Master, The Controller of our blessings …
Fan sur na: so help us with your help and your succour so we can make well known Your Tauheed…
Ala qaum il Kafireen: against the nation of the deniers of truth and the ungrateful, As Saatireen, the ones covered by the haze of their false natures from the sun of the truth apparent on the horizon.
Ghaus Pak (ra) prays: Make us steadfast by Your Lutf, Affection and by Your Ultimate Truth and by Your Tauheed, One-ness, Ya Khair ul Nasireen, O Best of Helpers, Ya Hadi-il Muddaleen, O Guide of the Astray!
In another tradition by Imam Abd bin Hameed the incident of the descent of the blessed verses ends with the line: “When the angel Gibrael (as) read the last two verses of Surah Al Baqarah, Nabi Kareem (salutations and greetings upon him and his family by his Lord who taught them prayers that bring us relief) said, “Ameen.”
In the echo of that “Ameen,” the one uttered by the Beloved of Allah Subhanahu (salutations or greetings upon his prayers and those of his blessed family’s prayers for us which are always answered by their Lord), “Ameen summa Ameena summa Ameen…”
رَبِّ ٱجۡعَلۡنِی مُقِیمَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَمِن ذُرِّیَّتِیۚ
رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلۡ دُعَاۤءِ
رَبَّنَا ٱغۡفِرۡ لِی وَلِوَٰلِدَیَّ وَلِلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ یَوۡمَ یَقُومُ ٱلۡحِسَابُ
My Lord! Make me an establisher (of) the prayer, and from my offsprings.
Our Lord! and accept my prayer.
Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents and the believers (on) the Day of Reckoning.
Surah Ibrahim, Verse 40-41
Tafseer e Jilani
Rabbi ja’alni muqeem as salati: O my Lord! Make me steadfast in prayer in the manner of khudu’, intense compliance (of the heart) and khushu’, submission and tabattal, devotion and ikhlas, sincerity…
Wa: and make…
Min zurriyati: from my offspring as well ones who are steadfast in it like the etiquettes mentioned previously.
Rabbana: O Our Lord! Respond to my supplication…
Wa taqabbal dua: and accept (my) prayer in my favour and in favour of my children.
Rabbana aghfir-li: O Our Lord, Forgive me by your Favour, for if You do not, I don’t have control for my self over harm or benefit…
Wa liwalidayya wa lil Mo’mineena: and forgive my parents and the believers, all of them, and forgive in accordance with the demands of your Jood, Generosity, my errors and their errors…
Youma yaqoom ul hisaab: on the Day of Reckoning when the Register of deeds will be opened and accountability be asked for everything which happened in sin.
Ameen!
oznor
Golongan-Golongan yang bersekutu (Al-'Aĥzāb):63 - Manusia bertanya kepadamu tentang hari berbangkit. Katakanlah: "Sesungguhnya pengetahuan tentang hari berbangkit itu hanya di sisi Allah". Dan tahukah kamu (hai Muhammad), boleh jadi hari berbangkit itu sudah dekat waktunya
Pencipta (Fāţir):3 - Hai manusia, ingatlah akan nikmat Allah kepadamu. Adakah pencipta selain Allah yang dapat memberikan rezeki kepada kamu dari langit dan bumi? Tidak ada Tuhan selain Dia; maka mengapakah kamu berpaling (dari ketauhidan)?
"Sesungguhnya Allah mengetahui segala rahsia di langit dan di bumi. Sesungguhnya Dia mengetahui akan segala (isi hati) yang terkandung di dalam dada" Fatir:38
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Cita-Citaku Hafal Al-Qur’an Sebelum Wisuda Teknik
Cita-Citaku Hafal Al-Qur’an Sebelum Wisuda Teknik
Target Halafan Al-Qur’an
SURAT KE
NAMA SURAT
HAFAL
TINGKATAN DHOBIT
SELURUH
SEBAGIAN
I
II
III
IV
V
1
Al-Fatihah
√
√
2
Al-Baqoroh
√
√
3
Ali Imron
√
√
4
An-Nisa
√
√
5
Al-Maidah
√
√
6
Al-An’am
√
√
7
Al-A`rof
√
√
8
Al-Anfal
√
√
9
At-Taubah
√
√
10
Yunus
√
√
11
Huud
√
√
12
Yusuf
√
√
13
Ar-Ro’d
√
√
14
Ibrohim
√
√
15
Al-Hijr
√
√
16
An-Nahl
√
√
17
Al-Isro’
√
√
18
Al-Kahfi
√
√
19
Maryam
√
√
20
Thoha
√
√
21
Al-Anbiya
√
√
22
Al-Hajj
√
√
23
Al-Mukminun
√
√
24
An-Nur
√
√
25
Al-Furqon
√
√
26
Asy-Syuaro’
√
√
27
An-Naml
√
√
28
Al-Qosos
√
√
29
Al-Ankabut
√
√
30
Ar-Rum
√
√
31
Luqman
√
√
32
As-Sajdah
√
√
33
Al-Ahzab
√
√
34
Saba’
√
√
35
Fatir
√
√
36
Yasin
√
√
37
Ash-Shoffat
√
√
38
Shood
√
√
39
Az-Zumar
√
√
40
Al-Ghofir
√
√
41
Al-Fussilat
√
√
42
Asy-Syuuro
√
√
43
Az-Zukhruf
√
√
44
Ad-Dukhon
√
√
45
Al-Jatsiyah
√
√
46
Al-Ahqof
√
√
47
Muhammad
√
√
48
Al-Fath
√
√
49
Al-Hujurot
√
√
50
Qoof
√
√
51
Adz-Dzariat
√
√
52
Ath-Thur
√
√
53
An-Najm
√
√
54
Al-Qomar
√
√
55
Ar-Rohman
√
√
56
Al-Waqi’ah
√
√
57
Al-Hadid
√
√
58
Al-Mujadilah
√
√
59
Al-Hasyr
√
√
60
Al-Mumtahanah
√
√
61
Ash-Shof
√
√
62
Al-Jumuah
√
√
63
Al-Munafiqun
√
√
64
At-Taghobun
√
√
65
Ath-Tholaq
√
√
66
At-Tahrim
√
√
67
Al-Mulk
√
√
68
Al-Qolam
√
√
69
Al-Haqqoh
√
√
70
Al-Ma’arij
√
√
71
Nuh
√
√
72
Al-Jin
√
√
73
Al-Muzammil
√
√
74
Al-Muddatstsir
√
√
75
Al-Qiyamah
√
√
76
Al-Insan
√
√
77
Al-Mursalat
√
√
78
An-Naba’
√
√
79
An-Naziat
√
√
80
Abasa
√
√
81
At-Takwir
√
√
82
Al-Infithor
√
√
83
Al-Muthoffifin
√
√
84
Al-Insyiqoq
√
√
85
Al-Buruj
√
√
86
Ath-Thoriq
√
√
87
Al-‘Ala
√
√
88
Al-Ghosyiyah
√
√
89
Al-Fajr
√
√
90
Al-Balad
√
√
91
Asy-Syam
√
√
92
Al-Lail
√
√
93
Adh-Dhuha
√
√
94
Al-Insyiroh
√
√
95
At-Tin
√
√
96
Al-Alaq
√
√
97
Al-Qodar
√
√
98
Al-Bayyinah
√
√
99
Az-Zalzalah
√
√
100
Al-Adiyat
√
√
101
Al-Qoriah
√
√
102
At-Takastur
√
√
103
Al-‘Asr
√
√
104
Al-Humazah
√
√
105
Al-Fil
√
√
106
Al-Quroisy
√
√
107
Al-Maun
√
√
108
Al-Kautsar
√
√
109
Al-Kafirun
√
√
110
An-Nashr
√
√
111
Al-Lahab
√
√
112
Al-Ikhlas
√
√
113
Al-Falaq
√
√
114
An-Naas
√
√
Inilah program cita-citanya yang harus dia selesaikan sebelum wisuda. Dia bertekad sebelum wisuda, hafalan Al-Qur’annya selesai dan Hadits Arbain karya An-Nawawi. Sebagai buktinya, dia membuat tabel Target Hafalan Al-Qur’an. Terkesima kita melihatnya. Namun, masih ada di dalam hatinya rasa pesimishingga ia berbisik, “Namun, hal ini sepertinya mustahil. Aku tidak mungkin bisa menyelesaikannya. Mata kuliyah teknik amat sulit dan sukar, belum lagi tugas yang melimpah-ruah, asistensi, dan target IP cumloude untuk lanjut studi S2 di Saudi. Ditambah lagi, aku telah terserang MERIANG* dan PILEK** sehingga ingin segera merajut tali pernikahan.”
[*MERINDUKAN KASIH SAYANG]
[**PENYAKIT INGIN LEKAS KAWIN]
Si dia di sini barangkali adalah kenalan kita, teman kita, atau bahkan kita sendiri. Di tahun-tahun terakhir ini tidak dipungkiri lagi semarak kajian Sunnah di mana-mana sehingga nuansa semangat mempelajari agama semerbak di kampus-kampus, terutama kampus teknik. Nah, melalui tulisan ini, saya hendak memberi sedikit motivasi kepada si dia agar tetap optimis menatap masa depan yang masih rahasia Ilahi.
Pembaca Budiman, mari kita mendengarkan perkataan seorang Imam ahli tafsir, ahli hadits, ahli qiro’ah, ahli fiqih, ahli zuhud, dan ahli ibadah, serta ahli arudh pada zamannya, Abu Ja’far Ibnu Jarir ath-Thobari tatkala berkata kepada murid-muridnya.
Beliau berkata, “Apakah kalian bersemangat untuk menulis tafsir Al-Qur’an?”
Muri-murid beliau menjawab, “Berapa jumlah halamannya?”
Beliau menjawab, “30.000 halaman.”
“Wah, umur akan habis sebelum menyelesaikannya,” ujar mereka.
Akhirnya, beliau meringkasnya hanya sekitar 3.000 halaman. Beliau mendiktekan kitab tafsir tersebut selama 7 tahun, dimulai sejak tahun 283 H hingga tahun 290 H. Kemudian, beliau bertanya lagi kepada mereka,
“Apakah kalian bersemangat menulis sejarah dunia sejak Adam hingga zaman kita hari ini?”
“Berapa jumlah halamannya?” tanya mereka. Beliau pun menjawab seperti jawaban pertama dan mereka pun menjawab dengan jawaban yang sama. Maka, beliau bekata,
“Inna lillahi. Sungguh, cita-cita besar itu telah mati!”
Maka, beliau pun meringkasnya seperti yang beliau lakukan terhadap kitab tafsir. Beliau selesai menyusun dan menelitinya kembali dan selesai membacakannya pada hari Rabu, tiga hari menjelang akhir bulan Rabi’ul Akhir tahun 303 H.
Sesungguhnya menghafal Al-Qur’an adalah pekerjaan yang mulia. Adakah perkataan yang lebih mulia daripada Kalam Allah? Sungguh, perumpamaan perkataan Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala dibanding seluruh perkataan yang ada bagaikan Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala dibanding seluruh makhlukNya. Tidaklah seseorang menyibukkan diri dengan Al-Qur’an melainkan Dia akan memberi dengan pemberian yang lebih utama melebihi apa yang Dia berikan kepada orang-orang yang berdzikir dan meminta kepadaNya.
Sesungguhnya Neraka itu darokat (bertingkat ke bawah) dan Surga itu darojat (bertingkat ke atas). Setiap penduduk Surga akan diseru, “Bacalah Al-Qur’an dengan mentartilkan bacaanmu lalu naiklah. Sesungguhnya tempatmu di Surga adalah di akhir ayat yang kamu baca sewaktu di dunia!” Atau yang semakna dengan itu. Lantas, Adakah jenis manusia yang bacaannya lebih banyak selain Ahlul Qur’an? Para penghafal Al-Qur’an menghabiskan waktunya untuk menghafalnya, mentadabburi makna ayat-ayatnya, mengamalkannya, lalu memurojaah hafalannya agar tidak hilang. Setiap huruf Al-Qur’an yang mereka baca diganjar dengan satu hasanah dan satu hasanah itu dilipatgandakan menjadi 10 hasanah. Sebab, alif laam miim bukanlah satu huruf. Namun, alif adalah satu huruf, laam adalah satu huruf, dan miim adalah satu haruf. Maka, seseorang yang telah membaca alim laam miim akan mendapatkan 30 hasanah. Barangsiapa datang dengan satu hasanah, maka baginya sepuluh yang semisalnya. Oleh karena itu, Syaikhul Islam Ibnu Taimiyyah menyesal tidak memperbanyak waktu untuk menyelami makna-makna Al-Qur’an, yaitu tatkala beliau berkata, “Sungguh, selama di penjara ini, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala telah membukakan bagiku banyak sekali makna-makna Al-Qur’an dan prinsip-prinsip ilmu yang banyak diinginkan oleh mayoritas ulama. Aku menyesal telah telah menyia-nyiakan kebanyakan waktuku bukan untuk membahas makna-makna Al-Qur’an.”
Barangkai si dia memiliki keyakinan bahwa dia merasa cukup dengan menghadiri kajian-kajian ilmu dengan duduk manis mendengarkan ceramah ustadz ditambah lagi dengan adanya kajian-kajian agama di radio yang bisa didengarkan dengan mudah sehingga lebih memperkuat keyakinannya akan kecukupan mendapatkan ilmu dari keduanya. Memang benar, ini adalah perkara yang tidak bisa dipungkiri kebenarannya tetapi bila mencukupkan diri hanya dengan itu saja, maka jelas ini keliru. Memang, dia paham dan mengerti bahkan miah-miah apa yang disampaikan ustadz. Namun, untuk berdakwah tidaklah cukup dengan pemahaman saja. Sebab, dakwah butuh hujjah-hujjah, atsar-atsar para shohabat dan tabi’in, serta pendapat para imam yang harus dia hafalkan dan yang paling penting di antara itu adalah hafalan Al-Qur’an. Dengan itulah, hati mad’u bisa tertawan dan apa yang dia sampaikan dengan hafalannya semakin membuat mad`u yakin, meskipun ini tidaklah mutlak.
Terakhir, saya akhiri risalah ini dengan doa penduduk Surga. Semoga saya, antum, dan Si Fulan itu dikumpulkan di dalam Surga Firdaus yang merupakan pertengahan Surga dan Surga yang paling tinggi. Dari sanalah sumber sungai-sungai Surga, baik sungai air tawar, sungai susu yang tidak pernah berubah rasanya, sungai khomr yang lezat bagi peminumnya, atau sungai madu yang tersaring dan di atas Surga Firdauslah terdapat `Arsy ar-Rohman yang Maha Agung. Serta, semoga kita dinikahkan dengan bidadari bermata jeli yang belum tersentuh sebelumnya oleh jin dan manusia yang kerudungnya lebih indah daripada dunia dan seisinya dan aroma wanginya akan memenuhi dunia bila menoleh kepadanya.
“Doa mereka di dalamnya ialah:subhaanakallahummadan salam penghormatan mereka ialah:salaamDan penutup doa mereka ialah:alhamdulillahirabbil aalamiin.”[1]
Surabaya, Mei 2011
Nor Kandir
Artikel norkandirblog.wordpress.com
[1]QS. Yuunus [10]: 10.
Continued from:
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The Belly of the Whale
فَنَادَىٰ فِى ٱلظُّلُمَتِ
أَن لَّآ إِلَهَ إِلَّآ أَنتَ سُبْحَنَكَ إِنِّى كُنتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّلِمِينَ
Then he, the Prophet Yunus (as), called in the darkness of the whale,
“There is no god except You, Glory be to You!
Indeed, I, I am of the wrongdoers.”
Surah Al Anbiya, Verse 87-88
Tafseer e Jilani
Fa nada: Then he invoked his Lord and prayed silently and humbly, scared, covered…
Fi dulumaat: in darkness which concealed him in layers because he was in the belly of the whale and the night was dark.
An: Indeed, He…
La ilaha: There is no God worthy of worship but Allah and deserving of worship which is the Right of His Essence and His Attribute…
Illa anta: except You, O Who in front of Whom necks bend and bow before the Veils of Your Majesty, the necks of the ones who are of intellect and reason…
Subhanaka: Glory is to You, O my Lord, I think of You as free of all flaws which are not mentionable with Your Essence and (all flaws) which are not worthy of mention with Your Grace.
Inni: Indeed, I am, due to my departure from my people without Your Permission and Revelation, while you had sent me to them and raised me among them in appearance as a Prophet, as a preacher and as a guide…
Kuntu min ad-daalimeen: I am of the transgressors of boundaries, the ones who departed from Your Orders and Your Commands so that’s why You made the matter one of distress for me and You imprisoned me and there is no one who can rescue me from this suffering except Your Forgiveness and Your Mercy.
One day, after meeting someone dear to me who seemed deeply unhappy, I wondered how people who had been living in a state of paranoia and doubt for too long would ever emerge from it. I asked Qari Sahib.
“There is only one way out,” he said. “Zikr Allah, remembering Him, being aware of Him, returning to Him again and again.”
Then he pointed me to a verse that blew my mind. For the verse was sent for a Prophet and the Prophets were ma’soom, innocent. They did not possess free will so everything that happened to them was out of their hands. Yet the words of the verse were saying, to teach us the ordinary, that the punishment for not returning to Him in regret praising Him was staying in that darkness forever.
Life would become like a grave and we would be like the dead!
فَلَوۡلَاۤ أَنَّهُۥ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُسَبِّحِینَ
لَلَبِثَ فِی بَطۡنِهِۦۤ إِلَىٰ یَوۡمِ یُبۡعَثُونَ
And if he was not of those who glorify,
certainly, he (would have) remained in its belly until the Day they are resurrected.
Surah As Saffat, Verse 143-144
Tafseer e Jilani
And overall:
Fa lau la annahu kana min al Mussabiheena: And if he was, indeed, not of the ones who glorify the Glory of Allah, Al Munkashifeena, the ones for whom is unveiled the One-ness of Allah Al Haqq and the one who thinks Allah Subhanahu is pure in totality from the several names and aspects assigned to Him…
La-labitha: then he would have remained and stayed in…
Fi batinihi: in the belly of the whale…
Ila youm-I yubathoon: till the Day of Resurrection and it would be for him, the belly, like a grave the way a grave is for the dead and overall there would be no deliverance from it ever.
I became scared. Even though I hardly ever saw such people, I became scared for them. Till death they would be like that?
“But why won’t someone, especially someone who does believe in God, remember Allah Subhanahu, if that is all that is needed to emerge from that belly? Why would someone want to be like that forever? The lack of happiness or joy or peace of mind or even feeling alive? That anxiety and restlessness? Why won’t someone seek a way out of it?”
“Because,” my young teacher said knowingly, “Satan has made them forget that remembrance.”
My eyes widened as I read the verse he asked me to look up.
ٱسۡتَحۡوَذَ عَلَیۡهِمُ ٱلشَّیۡطَـٰنُ فَأَنسَىٰهُمۡ ذِكۡرَ ٱللَّهِۚ أُو۟لَـٰۤىِٕكَ حِزۡبُ ٱلشَّیۡطَـٰنِۚ
أَلَاۤ إِنَّ حِزۡبَ ٱلشَّیۡطَـٰنِ هُمُ ٱلۡخَـٰسِرُونَ
Shaitaan has overcome them so he made them forget the Remembrance (of) Allah.
Those are the party (of) Shaitaan.
No doubt! Indeed, (the) party (of) the Shaitaan, they (will be) the losers.
Surah Al Mujadilah, Verse 19
Tafseer e Jilani
When…
Istahwada: he overcame, prevailed and took power…
Alaihimu Shaitaan: of them, Shaitaan, Al Mudill, the one who misleads, Al Maghwi, the tempter…
Fa ansaahum dikr Allah: so he made them forget the remembrance of Allah, Al Munqad, The Only Deliverer from deviation from the straight path, Al Murshid, The Only Guide towards guidance.
And overall…
Ulaika: they are the misfortunate, the miserable, the Al Matrodoona, the expelled…
Hizbo Shaitaan: the party of Shaitaan i.e. his army and his followers.
Ala inna hizba Shaitaan hum ul khasiroon: Are they not, the party of Shaitaan, the ones who are doomed, confined upon loss that has no end and humiliation everlasting, without the gain of Ma’rifat, Recognition of Allah and Yaqeen, certainty.
Ghaus Pak (ra) prays: May Allah give us refuge and his ordinary worshippers from the following of Shaitaan, the one who misleads, the one who is the seducer, the tempter. Ameen!
At first my focus just went to the words; the misfortunate, the miserable, the expelled, confinement to loss without end, an eternal humiliation, no knowing Allah, no certainty. Basically hell!
It didn’t take me too long to realize that I was also firmly ensconced in the belly of the whale. After all the verse descended for a believer. I thought I was in a state of remembrance. That was a delusion. My praying and the fasting and ticking the boxes of rituals, giving charity above what was obligatory, going to Medina and Mecca to perform countless pilgrimages, visiting other countries for the shrines of the Friends of God, none of it rendered me in a state of deliverance.
Then realize I was worse than all those others who I was inadvertently judging. The ones whose states I was so worried about.
The Façade of My Obedience
رَبَّنَا فَٱغۡفِرۡ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَكَفِّرۡ عَنَّا سَیِّءَاتِنَا وَتَوَفَّنَا مَعَ ٱلۡأَبۡرَارِ
Our Lord so forgive for us our sins and remove from us our evil deeds, and cause us to die with the righteous
Surah Aal e Imran, Verse 193
Tafseer e Jilani
Rabbana: O Our Lord, we became certain by his instruction (Nabi Kareem (saw)) in the rank of certainty of Recognition of the Essence of Your One-ness and after we became stable in it…
Faghfir: forgive us and cover…
Lana dunubuna: for us our sins of our ego which made us of those who were deprived of the court of Your Presence until we became steadfast by Your Lutf, Kindness and Your Taufeeq, granted ability in the rank of certainty of Witnessing Your Essence…
Wa: and after we became stable in that…
Kaffir: erase and purify…
An-na sayyi’atina: from us our sins, our characteristics which make us feel duality at all times until we become certain by Your Fazl, Favour and Your Jood, Generosity in the rank of the Truth of Your Essence…
Wa: and after that…
Tawaffana: make us die in the Realm of Your Dissolution…
Ma’a al ibraar: with the righteous, Al Faneena, the ones who dissolve in Allah, Al Baqeena, the ones who remain in His Remaining.
The person is particular who was creating a lot of angst and confusion in my life was lingering. Everything about their nature that was creating distress for me was identified yet I would keep forgetting it. Finally enough sense prevailed that I cut off all ties with them. I didn’t answer calls. I stayed away from occasions where we might meet.
That went against the grain of my nature. I consider myself a polite person. At least as far as communication in the modern age is concerned. I call people back promptly. I return their messages immediately. That combined with my being sensitive as well as finicky, made this a first.
The reason I was able to even execute this going against my nafs was that I had been told to do it. In the preceding weeks when I had been visiting the shrines and reading a page of the Quran at random, not once or twice but over and over, I had been told the state of these people. I had been told how to react to them.
The message had been clear. Turn away and let them be.
Allah Subhanahu would take care of it in the time He chose.
وَتَوَلَّ عَنۡهُمۡ حَتَّىٰ حِینࣲ
So turn away from them for a time.
وَأَبۡصِرۡ فَسَوۡفَ یُبۡصِرُونَ
And see, so soon they will see (what they don’t see now.)
Surah As Saffat, Verse 178-179
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And after that they are in a prolonged state of ghaflat, forgetfulness and state of being oppressive, tughyaan, and when they crossed the heights in conceit and desire for admiration of their personal attainments and (the heights of) disobedience…
Tawalla anhum: turn away from them, O Akmal Ar Rusul (greetings and salutations are sent upon you continuously by your Lord), The Messenger who completes Messenger-hood…
Hatta heen: for a time i.e. till the time of the completion of the promise of punishment.
Wa absir: And watch them after the descent of pain (upon them)…
Fasaufa yubsiroon: and they will soon watch i.e. what is it that will be the results of their opposing and their denial on the Day of Resurrection and they, who are of the misguided, will also see.
The Mukhaatib, the addressee, of the verse and the Quran was always Nabi Kareem (salutations and greetings upon the softest heart and his blessed family that pour mercy upon the Universe as gifted to them by their Lord). The Quran, minus a handful of verses, is a dialogue between only the two.
Through his person it then speaks to the rest of us. The word that struck me most when I first read the verse was “prolonged.”
Being in a state of forgetfulness, cruel, crossing the heights of self-importance and desire for admiration of their own selves, not even others, being disobedient for too long.
Other verses were even more severe. One thing was common in all in terms of an open declaration. If someone was unkind to Allah’s Beloved (salutations and greetings upon him and his family by Al Muhayman, The One who protects him), Subhanahu stepped in Himself and the Jalali Attributes of His Awe and Wrath manifested.
Verses like the above starting appearing again and again. To show me eventually that my suffering was caused by own self. That it was because of false gods of hopes and expectations in my heart.
Nabi Kareem (salutations and greetings upon him and his blessed family by His Lord who is his only Guardian), on the other hand, was different from everyone in all of Creation. His sadness bore out of a yearning as the Mercy of the Universe that they, the wicked, the stubborn, the selfish, the refusers, the deniers, the ungrateful, the hypocrites, the worst of all of Mankind, would somehow become believers.
The distress that he placed himself in in that longing brought the descent of such verses in the Quran.
فَلَعَلَّكَ بَـٰخِعࣱ نَّفۡسَكَ عَلَىٰۤ ءَاثَـٰرِهِمۡ إِن لَّمۡ یُؤۡمِنُوا۟ بِهَـٰذَا ٱلۡحَدِیثِ أَسَفًا
Then perhaps you would be the one who kills yourself over their denial in grief, if they don’t believe in this Message.
Surah Al Kahf, Verse 6
Tafseer e Jilani
After that their states in deception and disputing upon this course of action and the intensity of their anger and their enemity with Allah like this:
Falallaka: So perhaps you, O Akmal Ar Rusul (your Lord sends greetings and salutations upon you and your blessed family lovingly), O Messenger who completes Messenger-hood, with your love, unconditional, for their imaan, faith and their compliance and your hopes and your sympathy towards their pledge and their following…
Bakhi’un nafsaka: will kill yourself and devastate yourself…
Ala aasaarihim: because of them when they turn away from you and go…
Il-lam yu’minu: if they don’t believe and they don’t affirm…
Bi hadal hadith: in this Word of Allah i.e. the Quran…
Asafa: (in) traumatic grief i.e. destroy your self by excessive sadness and grief upon their leaving and their turning away from you and the absence of faith and obedience to you.
Even though He urges you (to love) their faith and their obedience and their richness and their kingdom and their elevation and their ranking and their wealth and their leadership among the people. So know that indeed, they don’t have any preparation nor do they have any certainty upon what is happening to them (as a result of your preaching).
The only words applicable for me were “will you kill yourself and devastate yourself because they turn away and go.” I couldn’t help but notice the end in particular. When Allah Subhanahu acknowledges, “Yes, I am The One who indeed sent you to possess this desire for them to be of the faithful and be obedient and have ranking and riches, but they are not of the ones who can respond.”
After that Subhanahu described to His Beloved (salutations and greetings upon his most kind soul) why they could never respond.
فَإِنَّكَ لَا تُسۡمِعُ ٱلۡمَوۡتَىٰ وَلَا تُسۡمِعُ ٱلصُّمَّ ٱلدُّعَاۤءَ إِذَا وَلَّوۡا۟ مُدۡبِرِینَ
So indeed, you cannot make the dead hear and cannot make the deaf hear the call when they turn, retreating.
Surah Ar Rum, Verse 52
Tafseer e Jilani
And overall: The ones who desire to harm people because of their in-born nature and are stone-like in their in-born character due to their being dead in reality and conceptually although they look like they are alive in form, do not care about them O Akmal Ar Rusul (peace and salutations upon you by your Lord with love) and (do not care about) their affairs and do not toil yourself over their guidance or their perfection.
Fa innaka la tusmi’ul mauta: So indeed you cannot make the dead hear, it is not in your power and your control to make the dead hear, but upon you is the conveyance and the inviting.
Wa la tusmi’u summa: And you cannot make the deaf hear, those who are deaf by nature…
Ad dua’a: the call and the invitation, especially…
Ida wal-lau: when they turn away and avoid you…
Mudbireen: turning their backs to you, evading you, denying you, rejecting your Messenger-hood and your invitation.
And again I just stared at the words, “When they turn away and avoid you, turning their backs to you, evading you…”
كَذَلِكَ یَطۡبَعُ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِ ٱلَّذِینَ لَا یَعۡلَمُونَ
Thus seals Allah the hearts of those who do not know.
Surah Ar Rum, Verse 59
Tafseer e Jilani
Kadalika: Like their natures and their seals, which you witness, Ya Akmal Ar Rusul, (peace and salutation upon you by your Muhibb, The One who loves you and your family), of the ones in jahla, ignorance…
Yatba’ullah: Allah Al Hakim, The Wise One, Al Muttaqin, The Possessor of All Certainty, has branded in their actions and has then sealed…
Ala qulubi: their hearts, all the Kafir, the deniers of truth and stubborn…
Alladina la ya’lamoona: they are the ones who do not know the truth and they do not believe in it because they are setup upon the stubborn-ness in their nature and the ignorance is such that it is kneaded which will not go by proofs and witnessing at all.
وَمَن لَّمۡ یَجۡعَلِ ٱللَّهُ لَهُۥ نُورࣰا فَمَا لَهُۥ مِن نُّورٍ
And (for) whom (has) not made Allah a light, then for him (is) not any light.
Surah An Nur, Verse 40
The words got me thinking of the nature of the crazy people I had come across in life. In the breadth of my experience they were mainly of two types; one was deceitful, the other honest, if perhaps only because they couldn’t hide their feelings because of lack of control. Superficially one appeared mild, the other cruel. The first was more dangerous, deadly. Their façade was calm. The other was a lunatic admittedly so, often proud of it. One was hidden, the other declared. One was passive, the other defiant. Both were stubborn and ignorant, insistent and persistent about their nature.
The truth is I was more like the former. My madness was hidden till it emerged. Anger used to instigate it. The only redeeming quality that I had been bestowed was that I felt regret. I expressed remorse. When I was not forgiven and my entreaties were rejected, I had breakdowns. It was related to abandonment issues which seemed universal but my reaction was at least consistent. I was always dying to be forgiven. Perhaps that is what saved me from that “prolonged” state.
Either way, they were in a prison and I was in a prison. More appeared in commonality than difference.
The Shirrk in My Heart
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا یَغۡفِرُ أَن یُشۡرَكَ بِهِۦ
وَیَغۡفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن یَشَاۤءُۚ وَمَن یُشۡرِكۡ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدۡ ضَلَّ ضَلَـٰلَۢا بَعِیدً
Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives [what] other than that for whom He wills. And whoever associates partners with Allah then surely he lost (the) way, straying far away.
Surah An-Nisa, Verse 116
Tafseer e Jilani
Then said Subhanahu, entertaining the idea of sinners and drawing them towards remorse and returning (to Him)...
Inallaha: Indeed, Allah Al Mutalli’u, The One Perfectly Informed of the secrets of His Servants…
La yaghfir: does not forgive and does not pardon…
Ayy yushraka bihi: the partners that are associated with Him by anything from His Creation, (he does not pardon) that it be made worthy of worship and (he does not pardon) that the happenings of things are associated with that which is manufactured…
Wa yaghfir ma doona dalika la may-yasha’u: and He forgives everything else (other sins) for whom He chooses if, he, the sinner, may have felt compelled to do the other sin and he may have disliked it (like lying or stealing) and he was remorseful for it and he was not insistent upon it…
Wa mayy yushrik billahi: and the one who associates partners with Allah with the association of happenings in the world to others than Him…
Faqad dallah: so he is astray from the Place of Tauheed…
Dalalan ba’eeda: a waywardness distant, with no hope of guidance for him
In addition to the verses in the Quran I kept being given explicit signs by my blessed Master, Ghaus Pak (ra), that even my state of staying away, cutting off ties, a source of pride for me, was as fickle as a house of cards.
He revealed to me in minute details why it was a lie, why it was superficial.
Once Shaan had been admitted into the institute. I left for my village for a much needed reprieve. I was tired. I wanted to be alone. There I was informed of my state that I was completely unaware of.
Al Fath Ar Rabbani
…When this opening and closing (of the doors of others) is correct for the Servant, then the burden leaves him and he acquires seclusion. The honour comes to his heart and is dispersed upon him. Keys come to him and separated are for him the skins (useless things) and the marrow remains.
The path of lusts forbidden is closed and broken and he prevails upon it and the way to Al Haqq Azzo Jal is opened and the road appears which is the road of His desire, the road of the ones before you from the Prophets and the Messengers and the Friends of God.
What is this way? It is the road of purification without impurity, the road of Tauheed, One-ness, without shirrk, the road of surrender without dispute, the road of truth without lies, the road of Al Haqq Azzo Jal without Creation, the road of Al Musabbib, the Granter of Means, without the means.
This is the road which the elite of the religion and the Sultans of Ma’rifat, the Recognition of Allah, and the Kings were upon, who were the men of Allah Al Haqq Azzo Jal and the cleansed ones and the selected ones, the helpers of the religion, those who hold enemity (only) for Allah and love (only) because of Him.
Woe upon you! How can you be the one who claims to be on the way of such people when you are a mushrik, associate others, with Him and make others from Creation like Him?
There is no imaan, faith, in you upon the Earth while you fear someone or have hopes associated with someone.
There is no zuhd, detachment, for you while in this world there is a thing you desire.
There is no Tauheed, One-ness, for you while you look at anyone else in your way towards Him…
Then Ghaus Pak (ra) says: O hypocrite, Allah Azzo Jal makes appear who He wants from His Servants. He is Al Munaadi, The One who gives fame, for them. He is Al Jami’, The Gatherer, of the hearts of creation to love who He wants from among His Servants. He is Al Mussakhir, He makes subservient what He wants.
You want that with your hypocrisy you collect the hearts of people so that they incline towards you. This will achieve nothing.”
Every word was like an arrow but that line particular revealed my pathetic state to me. I did still want their hearts to incline towards me. It was horrifying and disgusting at the same time.
Then my Master explained the concept of maqsoom, that which has been apportioned for each person in their destiny. Why running after something that was not in it was the cause of humiliation.
Al Fath Ar Rabbani (cont’d): “O Listener! Leave your lusts under your feet and turn away from them with all of your heart. If there is anything in them that is destined for you in the Knowledge of Allah, it will come to you in its own time because in matters of destiny, zuhd, detachment is not correct and the Knowledge of Allah, it cannot be changed and altered.
Your share will come to you in its time, happily, in abundance, pure so you will receive it with the hand of honour rather than humiliation. And with that, you will, indeed, receive the reward of being a zahid in front of Al Haqq Azzo Jal and He will look at you with the eyes of respect because you were not greedy and there was no insistence on your desire being met.
Then however much you run from the share of your destiny, it will become attached to you and run after you and in this, detachment is not correct but it is an absolute must to turn away from it before it comes.
Learn from me zuhd, detachment, and giving and taking. Don’t sit in your isolation with your ignorance. Learn the faith, then isolate yourself. Learn the Commands of Allah, and practice them in deed, then turn away from everyone except the few from the scholars of Allah Azzo Jal. So meeting them and hearing them is better than being separate.
If you see one of them, then it is compulsory to grab onto him and learn from him the understanding of Allah’s Ilm,
Knowledge and Mari’fat, Recognition. Gain learning by hearing the words of knowledge from their mouth, which comes from the tongues of men who these men are who are the scholars of Allah.
When this state of yours becomes correct, then become alone without the nafs, your self that prompts towards wrongdoing and Shaitaan and desires and tabyat, your acquired secondary nature and aadat, habits and seeing of anything in Creation except Him...
Ghaus Pak (ra) then says: I am shafeeq, kind, for you for I lift your burdens and sew your ripped deeds and implore Allah Subhanahu to accepts your good deeds and forgive your mistakes. What is the reason you have no love for me even though I care for you, for your sake, not mine.
I want your benefit and to save you from this murderous and cunning world. How long will you run after it. Soon it will turn around and face you and it will kill you…
…So when your state becomes correct (of learning from them), then adopt seclusion without your nafs and without Shaitaan and without lusts and habits and seeing Creation. Once this state of seclusion becomes right, then the angels and the souls of the Saliheen, the ones who reformed themselves, their powers will surround you.
If your seclusion from Creation is not based on this principle, without it your seclusion is hypocrisy plus a waste of your precious time. You will gain nothing from it. Instead, you will be in fire in the world and in the Hereafter. In the world, the fire is of misfortune and in the Hereafter, it is the fire prepared for the hypocrites and the deniers of truth, the ungrateful.”
Then he prays: “O Allah! Forgive us again and again and forgive us and hide for us and overlook for us and (accept) our repentance. Don’t shred our veils that cover us and don’t hold us accountable on our sins, O Allah, O Kareem, who said:
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِی یَقۡبَلُ ٱلتَّوۡبَةَ عَنۡ عِبَادِهِۦ وَیَعۡفُوا۟ عَنِ ٱلسَّیِّءَاتِ
And He (is) the One Who accepts the repentance of His slaves and pardons [of] the evil, and He knows what you do.
Surah Ash Shura, Verse 25
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And how can He, Subhanahu, not know of the hidden in their breasts…
Huwalladi yaqbalu tauba-tan: who is The One who accepts repentance which is happening solely because of regret and sincerity, (how can He not know of) which are the actions of the heart…
An ibadihi: of His Servants, Al Mustarji’eena, those who want to return towards Him with perfect khashiya, humility and khudu’, submission.
Wa: And after the acceptance of their tauba, repentance, from them…
Ya’fu: He forgives and He overlooks…
An: in totality…
Assiyaat: the sins happening from them upon the path of ghaflat, forgetfulness.
Wa: And overall…
Ya’lamu: He knows from you all of…
Ma tafaloon: what you do with your overt and inner (beings).
Woe upon you! You claim to have knowledge and find happiness the way the ignorant find happiness and are angry like they are angry.
Your happiness with the world and your inclination towards Creation will make you forget wisdom and harden your heart. The Mo’min is only happy with Allah and nobody except Him.”
I was in the village for five nights. In those five days, I read the above then translated it from the Arabic with Qari Sahib. In the quiet, I took it all in slowly.
Each word gave me pause. The crux of the matter was this: I wanted happiness in what they found happiness. Which was only and only the world. I was angry like they were angry. What made me the saddest was that the behaviour hardened my heart. Made me forget everything I tried to learn.
Every single thing I did on my spiritual joutney was with only one goal in mind. One intention alone: I wanted a softer heart. That was the nisbat, the association, that was dearest to me with my Nabi Pak (salutations and greeting upon the one called Ar Rahim by Allah Ar Raheem and his blessed family who transfer that Mercy to others). I wanted a heart that was in a continual, constant state of becoming softer and softer.
What else was there?
And I wanted ease. I had even studied those verses that showed me the way.
فَأَمَّا مَنۡ أَعۡطَىٰ وَٱتَّقَىٰ
وَصَدَّقَ بِٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰ
فَسَنُیَسِّرُهُۥ لِلۡیُسۡرَىٰ
Then as for (him) who gives and is mindful,
and believes in the best,
then We will ease him towards the ease.
Surah Al Layl, Verses 5-8
Tafseer e Jilani
Fa amma man aa’ta: So as for the one who gives from that which he was given from Al Haqq from rizq, sustenance, in (both) form and meaning, along with khushu, humility and khudu, submission and khuloos, sincerity, of intention and inner most feelings and different kinds of obedience and worship commanded for him…
Wa attaqa: and is mindful in totality of that which is forbidden and that which is prohibited about which Allah’s warnings of restraint have come in them…
Wa saddaqa bil husna: and he affirms the limitless demands of the Names of Allah and the effects of His Exalted Attributes which can never be counted and never be enumerated…
Fa sanuyassirruhu: then We will prepare for him and give him ability…
Lil yusra: for ease towards the way, which is easy, connecting towards the goal of Tauheed, One-ness and Ma’rifa, Divine Recognition, that brings deliverance from the darkness of doubts and the shadows of paranoia.
Every single thing that was was troubling my heart was being shown to me in pages of the Quran. I would pick the verses and I was told what was wrong. But being told something is not enough for the ones hiding idols in their hearts. For the ones who claim love for their Creator but no fear of displeasing Him.
The Fire of Possibilities
وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةًۭ
وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةًۭ وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ
And from those who say, "Our Lord! Grant us in the world good and in the Hereafter good, and save us from the punishment of the Fire.”
Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 201
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa minhum mayyaqoolu: Amongst them are those who have union in their overt and inner beings, (zahir and batin) and keep this world and the Afterlife together...
Rabbana a’tina fi duniya: who say, “O our Lord, Grant us goodness which makes You pleased with us in this life…
Wa fil akhira: and grant us goodness in the Hereafter, which connects us with Your One-ness (Tauheed)…
Waqina: and by Your Favour and Mercy upon us…
Adaab an naar: save us from the possibilities that cause paranoia and doubt.
I returned to Lahore. The circumstances then became such that almost everyone I knew started meeting said person and casually bringing them up in conversation. That started a thought in my head. That thought began to appear in recurrence and I wasn’t able to avoid it. It ran like a tape.
“They’re mean,” I would say to myself when I felt hurt.
Then a moment later, I would ask my nafs. “But are they really mean?”
And it would reply sounding reasonable, “No, they are not.”
I would agree. They were not really mean. They just had issues like everyone else. They were just one of those who pretended like they were “unaware.” Which is the biggest façade of all. Otherwise they should also be unaware when others did the same to them but in those instances they were always hyper sensitive, upset and terribly hurt. The contrast in their emotional states between being on the receiving end and doling it out is what betrayed their state of deception, with their own self and others.
But at the time I was stuck in my own nightmare!
For a few moments later the thought would reappear like a flash card. “They’re mean.”
Then the self-doubt “But are they mean?”
“No, they are not.”
“Yeah, I guess they’re not.”
And repeat!
I spent one whole day in that state. Distractions from activities did not make it better. By the end of the second evening, I was mentally exhausted. The constitution of my nerves is such that I can take on a continual state of emotional stress for about 48 hours. After that I collapse. It was the sole reason I had to exit relationships that others might allow to linger on for decades.
When I saw that moment looming on the horizon, dangerously close, I became anxious in its anticipation. Still at least I knew what would happen, having been through it before, so I decided to wait for it. There was nothing else to do. I didn’t know how to stop the tape.
Even worse was the truth that I did still wonder if they thought about me. If they realized what they had done. It shouldn’t have mattered. They were sticking to their guns. That was why they were called stubborn and persistent. But the shackles of my nafs were so tightly wound around my neck, even in that state of suffocation, it remained curious about one scenario or another. Like the insane person, I was considering the source of my torment to also be the cure of it.
Leading up to those hours before what I thought was going to be my folding I continued translating verses hoping they would cure the disease of my heart. What they did do was hold up a mirror to the truth of my state. In that intense anxiety though, in each read I would only see the others.
I only focused on the words that were placing them in the negative category Subhanahu was describing to His Beloved (salutations and greetings upon him and his family from the beginning till the end of times). How they would burn in their fires of desires and wealth and power and claims of abundance.
لَهُم مِّن جَهَنَّمَ مِهَادٌۭ وَمِن فَوْقِهِمْ غَوَاشٍۢ ۚ
وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
Hell will be their resting place and their covering as well.
And this is how we recompense the wrong doers.
Surah Al-Araaf, Ayaat 41
Tafseer e Jilani:
Lahum min jahannama: Hell is the torture of imkaan, possibility which is doubt…
Mihaad: and they will burn in these fires of their false desires.
Wa min fauqihim ghiwash: They will be covered with the fires of their power and wealth and claims of being great and possessing abundance.
Wa ka daalika najzi ad-dualimeen: And the zalimeen, the ones who transgress the boundaries of Allah due to their nafs, who are unjust, will drown in the addiction of their senses, their paranoia and their delusion.
I didn’t feel better. On top of that I totally missed the line which was about my hell; that it is the torture of imkaan, possibility, which is doubt…
The verses were in a series and about the differences between two and started with a verse ma’roof, well known.
There are two kinds of seas, salty and sweet and they cannot be equal.
وَمَا یَسۡتَوِی ٱلۡبَحۡرَانِ هَـٰذَا عَذۡبࣱ فُرَاتࣱ سَاۤىِٕغࣱ شَرَابُهُۥ وَهَـٰذَا مِلۡحٌ أُجَاجࣱۖ
وَتَرَى ٱلۡفُلۡكَ فِیهِ مَوَاخِرَ لِتَبۡتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضۡلِهِۦ وَلَعَلَّكُمۡ تَشۡكُرُونَ
And not are alike the two seas.
This (is) fresh, sweet, pleasant its drink, and this salty (and) bitter…
…so you see the ships in it, cleaving, so that you may seek of His Bounty, and that you may be grateful.
Surah Fatir, Verse 12
I read the translation. As soon as I realized through the tafseer that the description is in fact of a state, I felt desperate for mine to be that of the Mo’min.
What I wanted most of all was that sip of the water sweet which would “break the persistent feeling of ill will.” It would stop the tape from playing in my head.
Tafseer e Jilani
Then exemplified Subhanahu both of the groups, the Mo’min, the believer and the Kafir, the denier of truth, as two seas sweet and salty, so He said:
Wa ma yastawi al bahraane: And the two seas are not alike in advantage and benefit received from them both because…
Hada: the (state of the) Mo’min, the attester to the sea of Imaan, faith and Irfaan, Divine Recognition, the one upon whom is poured water from the Sea of the Essence of One-ness…
Adb-un: is like water fresh and delightful, giving pleasure to the mind, sweet in perfect sweetness…
Furat-un: sweet, it breaks the persistent feeling of ill will (to harm and avenge people) for those burning with thirst in the mirage of the world with the coolness of Yaqeen, certainty…
Saa’ighun sharaabuhu: easy is its drinking i.e. easy is its going down, for those set up on the nature of Tauheed, Allah Subhanahu’s One-ness.
Wa hada: And this (the other sea/group) i.e. the Kafir, the denier of truth/ungrateful, malevolent, unkind, is in the sea of ghaflat, unawareness and carelessness…
Milh-un: (is like water) salty, it does not reform a person who wants to reform themselves, whoever tastes from it, instead…
Ujaaj-un: (it is) burning, bitter, corrupting for the disposition. The one who tasted from it was destroyed, devastatingly, forever such that there is no rescue for him, instead…
Wa: the sea of bitterness, in it is still an advantage, but there is no benefit for the Kafir, the denier of truth, and the one who refuses to be guided at all.
The thought continued in the verses that followed. What else was never going to be equal? Not the blind and the seeing.
Not the darkness and the light.
وَمَا یَسۡتَوِی ٱلۡأَعۡمَىٰ وَٱلۡبَصِیرُ
وَلَا ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتُ وَلَا ٱلنُّورُ
And not equal (are) the blind and the seeing,
And not the darkness[es] and not [the] light,
Surah Fatir, Verse 19-20
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: But…
Ma yastawi: they are not equal in closeness and rank according to Allah…
Al a’ma: the blind, Al Ghafil, the forgetful ones, Al Jahil, the ignorant, about how to make the returning and attention…
Wal baseer: and the seeing ones, Al Arif, the ones who recognize Allah, Al Aleem, the knowing ones, seeing with the signs of reaching and ascension.
Wa la dulumaat: And (they are also not equal) the darkness, which is layered upon each other, thick and these are the darkness of tabyat (nature acquired from habits), and the darkness of chaos, and the darkness of what is superficially created, and the darkness of the egos different, which become heavy until it becomes a curtain, hard and a veil heavy, making blind the eyes, which were set up upon seeing and pondering upon the demands of matters of Allah’s Wrath and Awe.
Wa la noor: (with) the one radiant, upon whom come unveilings from the Essence of One-ness according to His Will, Subtle and Beautiful.
They were not equal, the shadow and heat. Nor the dead and the alive. For they may be alive but it was like they were living in a grave.
Now I started noticing the word “possibilities” as it sprung up everywhere. The burning of that heat was “flowing from the possibilities of hopes…the dead were destroyed by the essential nature of possibilities.”
وَلَا ٱلظِّلُّ وَلَا ٱلۡحَرُورُ
وَمَا یَسۡتَوِی ٱلۡأَحۡیَاۤءُ وَلَا ٱلۡأَمۡوَٰتُۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ یُسۡمِعُ مَن یَشَاۤءُۖ
وَمَاۤ أَنتَ بِمُسۡمِعࣲ مَّن فِی ٱلۡقُبُورِ
And not the shade and not the heat,
And not equal (are) the living and not the dead.
Indeed, Allah causes to hear whom He wills, and not you can make hear (those) who (are) in the graves.
Surah Fatir, Verse 21-22
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa la dillu: And (they are not equal) the Shadow of Allah Al Ilahi, The Lord, the Shadow being like Al Mirwah li Arwah, a fan giving tranquility to the souls of the people of love and compliance by the fragrances of the breezes of the different kinds of Divine Treasures and Honour…
Wa lal haroor: and the heat i.e. the burning which destroys rising, flowing from the possibilities of hopes, which are mixed with the darkness of the tabyat (secondary nature) rising from the clouds of desires and the fires of lusts.
Wa: And overall…
Ma yastawi: they are also not equal, according to Allah Al Aleem, The All Knowing, Al Hakeem, The Only Possessor of Wisdom…
Al ahya: the alive with the life of Ma’rifa, His Recognition, and Imaan, faith, and Yaqeen, certainty and irfaan, His Knowledge, a life from the beginning to the end, everlasting. There is no command for that life that it is completed (because it is in the Hereafter and therefore eternal) and there is no occurrence for it that it becomes nothing.
Wa la al-amwaat: and the dead (with the alive) because of the death of jahl, ignorance and adlaal, being astray and the different kinds of ghaflat, carelessness and nisyaan, forgetfulness, the ones who are Haalikeen, destroyed in the essential nature of possibilities, forever abiding in the corner of wasting away and humiliation.
Innallaha: Indeed Allah is, Al Aleem, The All Knowing, Al Hakeem, The Only One with Wisdom, Al Muttaqqin, The One Perfect in His Actions…
Yusmae’u: He causes hearing and He guides…
Mayya sha’u: who He wills from His Servants, bestowing for them and giving favours to them which leads them towards the Path of His One-ness…
Wa maa anta: and you are not, O Akmal Ar Rusul, O Messenger who completed Messengerhood (salutations and greetings upon you and your family continuously by the Heavens and its Angels)…
Bi musmi’-in: able to make them hear, as the guide and the instructor…
Man fil quboor: the ones in the graves i.e. the one who was permanently fixed, whose abode has been made in the hole of jahl, ignorance, (like a) knot, and the fire of possibilities and the happenings from negligence and forgetfulness because they are set up upon the state of being beguiled by their unaware nature and animalistic tendencies. There is no accountability for you regarding giving them guidance or instructing them at all.
By the end of the fifth verse, it was confirmed that I was not in the clear either. As much as my nafs wanted to delude itself that I must be part of the seeing and the light. And the shade and life. Certainly not in a grave. I wasn’t. The one thing I identified undeniably was that the tape in my head was a result of wondering about one imkaan or another. It was a deluge of possibilities.
And still my nafs did not want to let go of them. It didn’t want to let go of the cause of that anxiety. It didn’t want to let go of the idols in my heart. It didn’t want to let go of its associations of hope and expectations with others, its shirrk. That is the nature of the beast. It does not know how to against its wishes. How to refuse them.
So the nightmare continued. That persistence of a careless, deliberate state finally brought my Master’s patience with me to an end.
Continued on: www.flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/52650032173/in/datepos...
A Village in December
Said Hazrat Sahel Tustari (ra), “Purification is of three types; the purification of ilm, knowledge, lies in the disappearance of ignorance. The purification of zikr, focus upon Allah, comes from the vanishing of forgetfulness. The purification of true obedience comes from abstinence from sin."
I can’t remember the last time I visited Radhan in December. It’s always March and November and nothing else except when there is a death in the family and we head there for the burial in the family graveyard. But this year, the winter had been late. There was no rain to kick-start it and the temperatures were a mild 26 every single day. That was a first for me. Climate change concern aside, it felt amazing. I hate the cold.
The house was all mine. It was warm and quiet and gorgeous. I was acutely aware of my state of happiness that was bordering on elation. That didn’t have just to do with being outside the city. I was also planning a pilgrimage to Iraq with a friend. I had specific things I wanted to do this time, on what would be my second trip. Specifically in Baghdad at Ghaus Pak’s (ra) steps and in Najaf, where lay the Door of the City of Knowledge, the blessed Imam Ali (ratu).
I chose the vegetables I would eat every day that the chef, who had been there for 30 some years, would be cooking to perfection; all flavor, no crazed quantity spices to blunt the taste the way they did in the city. Turnips, carrots, peas, mustard spinach, cauliflower, organic chicken, grass-fed beef, liver, the list went on and on. Then there was the fruit in season which was in full bloom and appeared everywhere; grapefruits, oranges, sugarcane. I had brought Ghaus Pak’s (ra) Al Fath Ar Rabbani and two New Yorkers, my Ipod and a usb to watch something at night.
Shaan was supposed to come but then I decided against it. My friend from Karachi was coming to see me in March and wanted to return to the village for sure. I thought that might be a better time. If there was one extra person, there may as well be two! Plus someone from my staff in Lahore would accompany us and that would make things easier. All three of us had our idiosyncrasies. In numbers would be our strength
and no one would stand out.
I had decided to continue my classes with Qari Sahib per our schedule. We were working only on translating the exegesis of the Quran by Ghaus Pak (ra) in the Tafseer e Jilani and I was motivated as hell. I had a list of verses already that I kept adding to every time I heard a lecture by Uzair or Sheikh Nurjan. (flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/51683698952/in/dateposted-...)
If I could, the only impediment being that Qari Sahib already had several classes a week, I would work with him on it for hours every single day. By my calculation, it would still take me 10 years to translate the whole tafseer. Still, every verse revealed a jewel that only one with inner eyes could see and only one whose being a fountain of generosity could make others, the ordinary, see.
This piece was the third I was writing in months. I had started two but then each of them became so long, crossing 70 pages, that I couldn’t put them together. I had been adding notes to them as I wrote, thinking I could make it all cohesive later but they became like the jigsaw puzzles that have a thousand pieces. Which I could never assemble even if I had a thousand years. So I abandoned the first, then went to Ormara, wrote there and abandoned it next.
But this time, I was feeling joy, even in my tears, which I noticed only fell from my eyes before or after the dawn prayer. The rest of the prayers through the day could be uttered seriously but I rarely cried. In the village the writing flowed because the happiness made me able to concentrate on words that were other than the Quran. I knew the window was small. I decided to take it. It was not possible to compete with revelation!
سَنُرِيهِمْ ءَايَتِنَا فِى ٱلْءَافَاقِ وَفِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ ٱلْحَقُّ ۗ
Soon We will show them Our Signs in the horizons and in themselves
until becomes clear to them, that it (is) the truth.
Is it not sufficient concerning your Lord, that He (is) over all things a Witness?
Surah Fussilat, Verse 53
Tafseer e Jilani
Then points Allah Subhana Ta’ala towards the One-ness of His Essence and His Appearance according to His Names and Attributes in every day presence and His Creations and all that His One-ness encompasses within those Creations and which includes all of it, so that they all become a clear proof upon the Truthfulness of His Book and that it came forth from Him, so He said:
Sa nurihim: “Soon, We will show them i.e. the Majboleen, those that have been formed upon the Nature of One-ness, the Makhloqeen, the ones created upon the substance of imaan, faith and irfaan, Recognition of Allah, and the Mo’qineen, the ones possessing certainty of clear unveiling and eye-witnessing, (to these three)…
Ayatina: Our Signs i.e. the Clear Proofs of Our One-ness which leads to the One-ness of Our Essence, Apparent…
Fil afaaq: in the horizons i.e. in each speck of the Universe external from their beings, which they discover with their tools and their senses. “Afaaq” is named “specks” because it is through them that the rise of the Sun of the Essence of Allah is evident and that rise is also evident in these specks…
Wa fi anfusihim: (And Our Signs are apparent) in themselves i.e. their selves are the highest evidence of the ma’rifat, the Recognition of Allah, and Wahdat al Haq, the One-ness of His Essence.
For this reason, said Asdaq al Qaileen, the Most Truthful of the ones who speak and the Akmal al Kamileen, the Most Perfect of the perfect ones, the Prophet (peace be upon him);
مَن عَرَفَ نَفسَہُ فَقَد عَرَفَ رَبَۤہُ
“The ones who know their own selves, indeed, know their God.”
And no doubt, We (Allah) will show them what We will show them….
Hatta yattabayyana lahum: until it becomes clear for them and apparent in front of them and unveiled upon them…
Annahu: that indeed it i.e. this matter, which is made completely clear in the horizons and in their selves, is…
Al Haq: Al Haqeeq, Allah, who is The Rightful Possessor of Truth and Al Saboot, The One who is Unchanging in His Disposal of affairs, Alone in His Being. In the same way, the Quran, which is full of miracles, is also the ultimate Truth, and overall encompasses His Appearance and His Attributes.
Poets gave their reaffirmation in their own way:
ہم ایسے اہل نظر کو ثبوت حق کے لیے
اگر رسول نہ ہوتے تو صبح کافی تھی
Those of us seeing through the eyes of the heart, for evidence that there is a God,
if the Prophets had not been, a sunrise would have sufficed!
Josh
Subhan Allah!
I had heard a lecture recently by Uzair in which he had quoted the verse and the poetry above so I had studied it. It had reminded me of something he had said in earlier lectures; Allah describes Himself more often by that which that he is not i.e. using negation (nafi) rather than that which He is (asbaat). Subhan is the word for it in Arabic which describes the former, meaning “pure of all negativity.” Hamd is for the latter, the praise of that which is undeniable and requires no proof.
The Kalima Tauheed (Declaration of One-ness of God), the utterance to enter the fold of Islam, become a Muslim, the one who surrenders, starts with the word “la,” which is negation;
لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِؕ
Not is there a god but Allah and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His Messenger.
The Kalima itself is worded differently by various Spiritual Masters, Ghaus Pak (ra) using the world Maujood i.e. present;
لا الہ الا اللہ ای لا موجود الا اللہ
There is no God but Allah means there is no Presence except that of Allah.
I guess that meant negation prevails over assertion. For a moment I thought about science and if it followed the same premise but then I stopped myself. Science follows Man, say the Spiritual Masters, it doesn’t precede us. The idea of negation had made me think about the definition of sabr in Surah Al Asr, a personal favourite, on the four types of patience.
The Surah is extraordinary even before you read the exegesis. It begins with Allah taking an oath upon time. It states that every single person is, without doubt, in a state of loss. Then comes the exception. The only ones who aren’t are the Muqinoon, those who possess inner certainty, which is then defined. Like all of the Quran, the rhythm of the words fall on a beat which makes it easy to memorize and lovely to repeat.
وَٱلْعَصْرِ
إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّلِحَتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ
(Allah takes an oath) upon time,
that the human being is surely in a state of loss,
except those who believe and do righteous deeds and enjoin (each other) to the truth and enjoin (each other) to [the] patience.
Surah Al-Asr, Verses 1-3
Tafeer e Jilani
Wal Asr: Then Allah Suban Ta’ala takes an oath upon time and the ages, the meaning of which is about the Eternal Essence of Allah, from the beginning till the end, Timeless and Everlasting.
Innal Insaana: Indeed, the human being, created such to have a natural propensity towards the nature of ma’rifa, the Recognition of God and imaan, faith according to his share of the Lahoot, the Realm of the Divine, where there is no time and space…
Lafe khusr: is in a state of loss, immense and humiliating failure, as a result of their busyness in that which is useless due to the requirements (and needs) of his physical being, as related to his share of the world of Nasoot, the life in this world.
Illa: Except the Muqinoon, those who possess inner certainty…
Alladina Aamino: about the One-ness of Allah Subhan Ta’ala and are conscious, through their steadfastness, in their behaviour continuously in His Kingdom and about His Authority.
Wa: And with this faith and certainty…
Amilos Sualihaat: they do good deeds which points towards their ikhas, sincerity and their yaqeen, absolute conviction, and niyyat, intention.
Wa: And in this condition…
Tawasau bil Haq: they enjoin each other towards the Path of God and His One-ness…
Wa tawasau: and they also enjoin each other…
Bis sabr: towards patience for the practice of matters that require obedience and (patience towards) their tiredness from striving hard and (patience towards) from what they suffer as a result of cutting themselves off from their love of the world and (patience towards) leaving their animalistic desires which are attached to human nature.
All the Spiritual Masters had said that the practice of patience in denying oneself of that which one wanted, be it related to the world or the physical self and human desire, was the most noble. Again, negation!
On that first day as I lay in the garden, alternating between taking photos of birds and reading, I discovered another reason Shaan had come into my life. It was to empty my heart of all others. To bring me closer to eradicating the possibilities of shirk, (associating others with God), that persisted regardless of my worship. Those hopes, never ending, those desires I always obeyed!
In the Golden Chain of ahadith, which is when the words of Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) are recorded by his family, Maula Ali (ratu) narrates;
قال علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه:
إن أخوف ما أتخوف عليكم اثنتين:
اتباع الهوى، وطول الأمل،
فأما اتباع الهوى فيصد عن الحق، وأما طول الأمل فينسي الآخرة
Maula Ali (ratu) said that the Prophet of God (peace be upon him) said;
“Indeed of what I fear for you, I fear the most two things;
the following of desires and the endless greed for the world.
For the following of desires blocks you from the Truth, and the endless greed makes you forget the Afterlife.”
A line in Al Fath Ar Rabbani echoed exactly why the focus was all in the wrong place, the ego, which had become the false origin of all emotion;
“The happiness of your nafs, the base self, is what makes you happy. It’s sadness is what makes you sad.”
Ever since Shaan had come into my life I was already detaching from everyone else. It was like I didn’t need anyone. I thought about it sometimes when I was in my room alone. Was that it with people? Having a person in one’s life that one cared for, took responsibility for, worrying about their emotional state, was that what made them indifferent to others? (flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/51621076407/in/dateposted-...)
Since he was around me I didn't care at all about who I met and who I didn't. I didn't miss anyone. I didn't seek anyone. I even spent time thinking about how I would treat others now that I didn’t need them. I had been pondering over it as if it was going to be a spiritual exercise. But of course it was just a whispering of Iblis to ignite my ego. Its eternal wanna-be goody two shoe-ness sans sincerity.
I only ended up reinserting thoughts of events past and creating nostalgia around those that were and will always willingly absent and eternally betraying. The falsehood of my thoughts was too apparent to ignore. The sadness relating to them reverberating in my heart, created the impression of some warm remembrance, which was really just hurt.
More importantly, a hadith was brought before me that brought a swift end to the pondering of whether I would be kind or cruel. In searching for something I came across something Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) had said about what he was commanded by His Lord, who raised him, nurtured him. He had listed nine things. I had focused on three that had to do with other people:
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَمَرَنِي رَبِّي بِتِسْعٍ:
خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ فِي السِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ
وَكَلِمَةِ الْعَدْلِ فِي الْغَضَبِ وَالرِّضَى
وَالْقَصْدِ فِي الْفَقْرِ وَالْغِنَى
وَأَنْ أَصِلَ مَنْ قَطَعَنِي وَأُعْطِي مَنْ حَرَمَنِي
وَأَعْفُو عَمَّنْ ظَلَمَنِي
وَأَنْ يَكُونَ صَمْتِي فِكْرًا
وَنُطْقِي ذِكْرًا
وَنَظَرِي عِبْرَةً و
آمُرُ بِالْعُرْفِ
The Prophet of God (peace be upon him) said; I was ordered by my Lord nine Commands:
To be in fear of God in secrecy and in announcement,
and to speak justly when in anger and in happiness,
and to be moderate in poverty and wealth,
and to connect with the one who disconnects from me and to give to the one who deprives me,
and to forgive the one who is unjust to me,
and for my silence to be for reflection (of Him)
and my utterance to be of remembrance of (Him)
and my seeing to be to seek lessons
and to enjoin others towards goodness.
So that was that! Whether I could do it or not was another matter of course. But that bridge could only be crossed when it appeared. If they appeared that is. It served to remind me of a line I had read in the Tafseer e Jilani that we only see those for whom love has been placed in our hearts. Then I came across a cartoon or rather a sketch in one of my New Yorkers titled Paul and Audrey, that I type below as was, that proved just that magnificently.
Paul Desmond was the alto saxophonist in the Dave Brubeck Quartet from 1951 5o 1967. He wrote “Take Five,” the Group’s biggest hit. He had a lifelong crush on Audrey Hepburn. Though they never met…
The strip was about her performing at the 46th Street Theater starring in “Ondine” in the spring of 1954. The Quartet was playing a few blocks away. Every night, Paul asked Brubeck to call an intermission at the same time. Desmond would duck out of the club and cut across Times Square. He’d stand in an alley to watch Hepburn walk out the stage door and climb in to her limo.
That year Paul wrote a song called “Audrey” which appeared on the Columbia Records Album “Brubeck Time.” Desmond died from lung cancer in 1977. He was single and never knew whether Hepburn had heard the song he wrote for her.
When Hepburn died in 1993, her ex-husband Andrea Dotti called Brubeck to ask if his Quartet would play “Audrey” at a memorial service at the UN Headquarters. This took Brubeck by surprise.
“I had no idea you’d be aware of Audrey…”
“My wife listened to that song every night before she went to bed.”
Sob!
The love was inserted in one’s heart for another. The fruit of that love was mushahida, a witnessing. It felt comforting to me that if people were going to be coming and going out of my life, my seeing them, them seeing me, or not, would at least only be a function of love. There would be ikhlas that I didn’t have to inject, never knowing if it was real (sincerity) or fake. It would either be there or not entirely outside my own existence.
In these warm winter days I read in Al Fath Ar Rabbani that disobedience was a result of being jahil.
“The one who was disobedient was ignorant of his Lord, therefore he became disobedient. Instead he became obedient to Satan and chose agreement with him. If he had not been jahil, ignorant, he would not have become disobedient. If he had become cognizant of his base self, the nafs, aware that it bids him towards what is wrong, he would never have succumbed to it…The nafs, desire, nature, and bad company they are all helpers of Iblis who deludes you.”
What the nafs was infatuated with was the world. The company sought was within the world. And it was all attractive.
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ زِينَةً لَّهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا
(Truly we have made all that is on Earth as an adornment for it)
that We may try them, as to which of them is best in their deed.
Surah Al-Kahf, Verse 7
Tafseer e Jilani:
Inna ja’alne ma ala alardi: Without doubt We created upon this Earth three basic things; animals and humans, vegetation, and buried treasures. And We created whatever else comes from this Earth; different tastes and different lusts, which are physical or fantasy.
Zeenatal laha: These are adornments for it that make it (the world) beautiful and attractive…
Ayyuhum ahsan amlan: to see which of them (Mankind) has the best deeds and these deeds are the ones which are completed with true guidance and reflection by detachment from the world. And the absence of focus towards it and staying away from its enjoyment which is an illusion. And staying away from the distraction it creates and its lusts which bring with them all kinds of pain and difficulties and desires.
It is these wishes which in turn cause different sins and crimes. It is then imperative that in this world then one lives in a single room and wears a single outfit and eats simply, for everything else is just debris which is transient, which inherits sinfulness and trials.
When I read the last line of what is “imperative” only one word came to mind; Shaan.
The connection of knowledge and deed became clearer through the hadith:
من عمل بما یعلم اورثہ اللہ علم ما لم یعلم
Hence Nabi Pak (peace be upon him) says:
“The one who acts upon what he acquires as knowledge, Allah makes him inherit the knowledge which he does not know.”
Al Fath Ar Rabbani: “First learning must be gained from Creation. That is a command. Then comes the Knowledge from the Creator. And this is the Ilm ul Ludunni, the Knowledge of the Divine. This Divine Ilm from Allah is specific for the qalb, the Seat of Recognition of Allah, and it is a secret which is specific for the soul.
O Listener! How is it possible that you possess the capability to gain knowledge without a teacher? You are in the House of Wisdom so seek knowledge for seeking it is dutied upon you. Which is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) said;
اطلبوا العلم ولو بالصين
Seek knowledge even if it lies as far as China.”
I had noticed how many current day political analysts quoted that particular saying frequently now that Pakistan was allied with China in an inseparable way geo-politically. But then every word The Beloved (peace be upon him) spoke was deliberate. It was taught. It had deep repercussions, some that seemed to be unveiling themselves for us in the homeland at least, 1,400 years later.
What was it that made the world and all that in it a distraction so intense that one’s soul was forgotten? It was the reason the soul could be ignored for an entire lifetime. I always paid attention to what was happening in China. Like everyone else the Party was doing things that were good and bad.
China had discovered that it had lost control of an entire generation. That thousands of years of culture had been wiped out in a matter of years. India had discovered the same but its reins were firmly in the hands of Hollywood and their own billionaires. They were only sinking fast with no turn around in sight.
Recently in China had started what was being called in the press, a new “cultural revolution.”
Reuters, August 31st, 2021; “Three hours a week: Play time's over for China's young video gamers. China has forbidden under-18s from playing video games for more than three hours a week, a stringent social intervention that it said was needed to pull the plug on a growing addiction to what it once described as ‘spiritual opium.’”
I was captivated by the language the Party used; spiritual opium! I guess once something bad happened to them, it was never forgotten. But it wasn’t just the limiting of the time during the seven days in a week. It was also exactly which days and which timings within those days that the three hours could be used.
“They limit under-18s to playing for one hour a day - 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. - on only Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, according to the Xinhua state news agency. They can also play for an hour, at the same time, on public holidays. "Teenagers are the future of our motherland," Xinhua quoted an unnamed NPPA spokesperson as saying. "Protecting the physical and mental health of minors is related to the people's vital interests, and relates to the cultivation of the younger generation in the era of national rejuvenation."
They didn’t care if billions were wiped in shareholder value of the companies making the games. Which they were. In fact, quite the opposite. The Party had begun forcing them and the tech moguls to give charity in the billions as part of their “common prosperity” drive;
“To answer Beijing’s call of ‘common prosperity,’ China’s Big Tech are scrambling to prove their commitment to social values. Alibaba had earlier this year earmarked 100 billion yuan to help the national strategy of equal distribution of wealth, while Tencent has set up two batches of funds totalling 100 billion yuan."
I had been wondering how they could possible enforce such stringent rules, monitor hourly playing of games on the internet by millions of kids. But of course the Party knew how to get what it wanted exactly as it wanted; by controlling the supply of the “electronic drugs.
“Gaming companies will be barred from providing services to minors in any form outside the stipulated hours and must ensure they have put real-name verification systems in place, said the regulator, which oversees the country's video games market… The NPPA regulator told Xinhua it would increase the frequency and intensity of inspections for online gaming companies to ensure they were putting in place time limits and anti-addiction systems.”
When I read the pieces, I had been in the States. I mentioned the rules to every kid I saw strapped to their Ipad like it was an IV that gave them life. They looked amazed and then unsurprisingly, had the same response; “Thank God I don’t live in that country!”
But China didn’t stop at gaming and time spent on the internet. In 2009 they had banned internet porn and heavily fined and penalized any company distributing it. Not to mention adverse consequences for the viewers. But now they were shifting gears.
Insider, July 22nd 2021; “Chinese tech giants were fined for distributing ‘soft porn’ sticker packs and sexually suggestive videos with minors in them. The companies have been told to remove related content on their sites. The internet watchdog also imposed a blanket ban on people under 16 from appearing in live streams.”
No influencers, no You-tubers! It sounded like a miracle to me. And again the companies would be the ones enforcing the compliance.
“Under the campaign ‘Summer cleanup of the internet for minors,’ the CAC issued a blanket ban on young people under 16 from appearing on live streams, which have become an extremely popular way for Chinese e-commerce sites to sell goods. The statement did not detail how the agency is going to impose the ban, which would likely be left up to companies to comply. The internet regulator said the move is aimed at preventing young people from "worshipping money" and selling ‘extravagant pleasure.’”
Meanwhile Time Magazine named unhinged Elon Musk, Person of the Year, who was now saying that like the Prophet Noah (as), he wanted to take animals up to Mars on a space ship! The next day the story broke about misogyny rampant at Tesla with filings of sexual harassment suits and the claims that the 256 billion dollar “Person of the Year” was “sadistic.”
Hype around the metaverse, most heavily being pushed by the epitome of evil, Facebook, revealed the ugliest downside; sexual harassment in the virtual universe, starting with groping. Beta testers were having the unpleasant experience on Horizon World, Meta’s virtual reality social Media platform.
I had concerns about the whole virtual reality world we were going to be entering en masse but unwanted physical aggression was not on that list. I was mostly worried about people becoming reclusive and children getting further addicted to a life online.
The Post was printing article upon article about the links of social isolation to violence. On top of that “Since the return of spectators to high school sporting events following the pandemic shutdown, many young athletes across the country have experienced similar hate speech and other abuse. Namely using foul language, making obscene gestures, throwing objects and physically fighting. The uptick also has included spectators hurling sexually demeaning and racist language at young athletes."
The Wall Street Journal had been investigating TikTok and Instagram. Both had algorithms inundating minors with “endless spools of content about sex, drugs and eating disorders.” Little could be done about it by the companies and oversight was absent. But the new kid on the block was virtual reality.
MIT Technology Review, Dec 12th, 2021: …“There I was, being virtually groped in a snowy fortress with my brother-in-law and husband watching.”
…A recent review of the events around the user’s experience published in the journal for the Digital Games Research Association found that “many online responses to this incident were dismissive of the experience and, at times, abusive and misogynistic … readers from all perspectives grappled with understanding this act given the virtual and playful context it occurred in.” A constant topic of debate on message boards after the user’s Medium article was whether or not what she had experienced was actually groping if her body wasn’t physically touched.
Katherine Cross, who researches online harassment at the University of Washington, says that when virtual reality is immersive and real, toxic behavior that occurs in that environment is real as well. “At the end of the day, the nature of virtual-reality spaces is such that it is designed to trick the user into thinking they are physically in a certain space, that their every bodily action is occurring in a 3D environment,” she says. “It’s part of the reason why emotional reactions can be stronger in that space, and why VR triggers the same internal nervous system and psychological responses.”
The question is: Whose responsibility is it to make sure users are comfortable? Meta, for example, says it gives users access to tools to keep themselves safe, effectively shifting the onus onto them…If anything is clear, it’s this: There is no body that’s plainly responsible for the rights and safety of those who participate anywhere online, let alone in virtual worlds. Until something changes, the metaverse will remain a dangerous, problematic space.”
Companies off the hook and here we go again!
The cause of disobedience made me reflect on how I understood the word jahil. It was in two ways; the first was to be ignorant. The second was to know but deny the truth. That denial was rooted in the ego, the nafs, the base self. Why? Because it wanted to do what it wanted to do and justify it at all cost. I wondered which I was going to be when the “enemy” appeared.
My intense desire was to somehow be what Maula (ratu) had ordered;
إذا قدرت على عدوك فاجعل العفو عنه شكرا للقدرة عليه
“If you had the ability to destroy your enemy, forgive them out of thanks to God who granted you that ability (to forgive him).”
In the village reading I came across the teachers without whom spiritual journeys were just endless circles; the three types of guides.
Al Fath Ar Rabbani: “O Disciple! Remain in the company of the one that helps you to fight your nafs as opposed to the one who aids it against you.
When you adopt the company of a jahil, uninformed and munafiq, pretender Spiritual Master, who is a slave to his desire and his nature, he will help the nafs against you. It is compulsory upon you to seek the company of the Spiritual Masters who are not companions of the world but are companions for the Hereafter.
When the Sheikh is the one who is a follower of nature and desires, then he will keep company only for sake of the world.
When he is a Sahib e Dil, Sheikh of the Qalb, he will keep company keeping in mind the Afterlife.
And when the Sheikh is Sahib e Sirr, of the soul, then his company is to connect (others) with Allah alone.”
Since Shaan came in to my life I never got stuck for days on end on a thought, no matter what it was. Good or bad, disturbing or pleasing. Everything was a door. I saw the emotion, marked it and passed through it. I would even say the words out loud to stop fixating on a thought that would loop while I tried to make excuses that made its existence valid.
“See the door of nostalgia, judgement, anger, disappointment, grief, paranoia, anything and everything!
See the door!
Pass through it.”
There was no stuckness. At least not for long. But that also wasn’t always the case.
I had heard Sheikh Nurjan (ra) in a lecture talk about
وَقُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقً
And declare, O Prophet (saw), “The truth has come and falsehood has vanished, for falsehood is bound to wither away - Surah Al-Isra’, Verse 81
“When you are solid in your settlement in Allah’s Unveiling before you, a clear Sun of Allah’s Essence has appeared, then there is nothing else for all has disappeared; the shadows and darkness that destroy one’s being. When you find that knowledge and you find that door, your life is to serve, to enter into that door. Once you enter that door, you pray to never leave it, to die in it.”
Babu ji (ra), my spiritual Master from Golra, had once said in Punjabi to my Mamu when he was in his early 20s, likely looking inside his heart, “don’t get stuck like a donkey in mud. Move on!”
I used to think maybe he said that in the context of love. My Mamu was deeply sensitive. That probably made him a classical romantic. But he didn’t say it in the context of any one thing. He said it in reference to every single thing.
Hazrat Najmuddin Kubra (ra) in the Tafseer e Jilani:
“You had made the behaviour of your nafs overpower the attributes of your qalb, which is the Seat of Recognition of Allah. This is because your good deeds were only for display and to claim good repute. Your purpose in following in the footsteps of the nafs was to receive things from this world that you thought would benefit you and showing truthful regard for your Lord was not your intention.
Still, he delivered you from painful punishment (for such acts) so that you would only desire to seek the Pleasure of Allah and occupy yourself only with His worship (by being mindful of Him at all times). If you were thus granted, due to His Mercy, advances in your spiritual ranks, don’t become stuck in them. Instead, move forward and continue to seek union with the Status and Stations of Allah’s Essence until you achieve success in reaching them.”
The placement of people, all of creation, in one’s life is tricky. They all serve as mirrors to see one self and they are the bait Iblis uses to create havoc. Truly a case of you cant live with them or without them!
Al Fath Ar Rabbani: Remember! Makhlooq, creation, is the veil over your nafs, ego.
And your ego is the veil over your qalb that prevents you from recognizing your Lord.
And your qalb is the veil over your batin, the inner being.
So as long as you remain stuck with people, you will not be able to see your nafs.”
It made me think back to the hadith on knowledge as self-awareness.
من عمل بما یعلم اورثہ اللہ علم ما لم یعلم
“The one who acts upon what he acquires as knowledge, Allah makes him inherit the knowledge which he does not know.”
So if one acted upon deed, the condition being that the act was rooted in ikhlas, sincerity, Allah opened a new door of knowledge. And if that was brought into deed, another door opened. Door upon door opening and door upon door carrying one towards sincerity.
It was the word ikhlas, the requirement of sincerity, of the deed that was elusive to me. Until Ghaus Pak (ra) told me what was the one place where it lay. The beginning of his words had made me cry because it was all I did wrong:
“Stop being satisfied by relaying the states of the Friends of God, and trying to look like them and copying and transmitting their words (to others), when all the while you act in complete opposition to their deeds.
For this will bring you no benefit at all. You are grime without purification, mere creation without the Creator, the world without the Afterlife, falsehood without truth, zahir, overt, without a batin, the inner being, words without deed and deed without ikhlas, sincerity.”
The whole paragraph had me sitting on edge but the word Ikhlas took me over the top. And then came the last line;
“The sincerity is not in accordance with the Sunnah, the acts and deeds of the Beloved of Allah (peace be upon him). Indeed, Allah never accepts words without deed. And He never accepts deeds without sincerity. Whatever it may be, if it is not in line with His Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace be upon him), He will never accept it.
This is all claim without proof. Therefore nothing is rightly accepted from you.”
Never before in my life was I being pointed with such emphasis towards one door alone; the Sunnah of The Belveod (peace be upon him). I always thought I knew how important it was but I never grasped that it was essential to the point that its absence made things worth naught. Usualy I always circled back to the world I guess because we were stuck in it. Even me who claimed such detachment from it.
The connection of sincerity with the Sunnah reminded me of a translation I had done of the end of Surah Al Araaf from the Tafseer e Jilani;
“It is incumbent upon you that if you want to receive true guidance from the Book, you have to enjoin yourself with the ahadith of Rasool Allah (peace be upon him). Because the ahadith are meant to explain it, reveal the secrets and signs in it, and make clear that which is ambiguous in it. The ahadith will give you the security you need to have true belief and secure you from slipping and turning away from guidance. It is the ahadith that which take you, according to your capacity, to the path of One-ness.”
Every day I sat in the garden and saw the light outside turn a warm yellow in the afternoon. The sky became a powdery blue and everything became brighter and brighter, light upon light. And every day I wished it was the first day there, the beginning of five. In one of my New Yorkers I came across an excellent piece of fiction by a Native American writer. I had not come across him before.
It was titled Featherweight. I loved it because it was a story about love. The writing was a little racy but there were lines in it that made me pause. Like the first; “When I first met my love…” I don’t come across romance often in the magazine so it was a treat. Especially since it was written about young love, kids in their 20s, the intensity running sky high all the time in angst and pleasure.
…She was like that – anything I said she rejected on principle.
…She could never calm down. Her nerves were always at DEFCON 1. One night I told her the true divide between us was not the thing her mother had told us but that I came from buffalo people and she came from fish people. No, she said. You come from sober people and I come from people who throw plates.
…Love is most often a resurrected thing.
…Some of us are like that. One moment we’re one way, the next we’re another.
And my favourite:
…I accepted it completely and forever, just as the sun accepts that it will never catch the moon.
Because it was exactly about my first short story, Ash Shams Wa Al Qamr, The Sun and the Moon.
Every afternoon after I read I took my books in and waited for Pathani. To ask her which direction we would go in that day. To hear her reply whichever you want. The comfort of sameness never leaves me.
As I walked amidst the orchid of orange trees trying to choose one to pick some fruit from to try, I thought about how it was not surprising to me that Iblis’ favourite tactic was inserting delusion, creating paranoia, causing obsession over all things worldly. There was no one more deluded than him. He gloated over the warp speed with which he corrupted everything that was made pure and we reveled in our embracing of it under the single guide of modernity, applauding ourselves over non-judgment and freedom. He handed us matches and we set ourselves on fire. That’s another 70 pager that is exhausting to just think about.
So when I came across the verse in the Quran about how on the Day that mattered, the excuse that we were led by him, deceived by him would not stand, I was amazed that we were even foretold that.
Then the deceiver would just turn around say, “I have nothing to do with you or your choices.” The beginning of the exegesis was amazing starting with this; that desires and lusts that caused ruin would be given the appearance of Satan.
وَقَالَ ٱلشَّيْطَنُ لَمَّا قُضِىَ ٱلْأَمْرُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَوَعَدتُّكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ ۖ
وَمَا كَانَ لِىَ عَلَيْكُم مِّن سُلْطَنٍ إِلَّآ أَن دَعَوْتُكُمْ فَٱسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِى ۖ
فَلَا تَلُومُونِى وَلُومُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُم ۖ
مَّآ أَنَا۠ بِمُصْرِخِكُمْ وَمَآ أَنتُم بِمُصْرِخِىَّ ۖ
إِنِّى كَفَرْتُ بِمَآ أَشْرَكْتُمُونِ مِن قَبْلُ ۗ
إِنَّ ٱلظَّلِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ
And when everything will have been decided Satan will say,
"Indeed, Allah promised you a promise of truth. And I promised you, but I betrayed you.
But I had no authority over you, except that I invited you, and you responded to me.
So do not blame me, but blame yourselves.
I cannot be called to your aid, nor can you come to mine.
Indeed, I deny your previous association of me (with Allah).”
Indeed, the wrongdoers, for them (is) a punishment painful."
Surah Ibrahim, Verse 22
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa qala Shaitaan: The desires which corrupt and corrupt others, first of all, they will say about Mankind, when they will have been given the appearance of Satan the deceiver…
Lamma qudiyal amr: after the matter has been decided about the abode of the people of Heaven in Heaven and the people of Hell in Hell...
Innallaha: (those desires that will be given the appearance of Satan will say) indeed Allah, Al Muslih, The Reformer, Al Mudabbir, The Disposer of the affairs of His Servants…
Wa’adukum wa’adal Haq: He promised you about this Day (to not follow Satan) which you are now held accountable for…
Wa wa’adtukum: and I promised you waywardness and delusion, opposite to His Promise…
Fa akhlaftukum: so I went against that which your Lord promised you, despite that its fulfillment (of my promise) was impossible and there was never any doubt about that ever. And you followed my words despite that this was a delusion and disobedience. There could have never been any hope that the promises would come true and still, you believed me.
Wa: And yet another thing is that…
Ma kana li alaykum min sultan: I had no control over you. There is no proof that I could have overcome you and nor do I have an argument which allows me refuge…
Illa an dawutakum: except that I only invited you according to your choices and your desires which was exactly based on your lusts and physicality, and knowing all that…
Fastajabtum li: you accepted my call and you accepted it to be true, without reflection and without delaying, willingly and with want.
Fala talumoni alyoum: So don’t blame me today…
Wa loumo anfusukum: and blame your selves which persuaded you and beckoned you towards following me, along with your knowing (full well that this) was my trap and my enemity.
Ma ana: I am not today…
Bimusrihikum: your helper (if you want to call upon me to help you), nor do I have authority to help you, even if I claim to be with you, like I used to in the past, to deceive you and create illusions…
Wa ma antum: And neither are you…
Bimusrikhi: my deliverers, now that everything has come to light and the bondage of love between us has been cut and everyone has become the saver of their own selves according to what they have done.
Inni: Indeed I, on this day after the unveiling of the secrets and the hidden truths,
Kafartu: deny i.e. disassociate myself from and refuse…
Bima asharktumooni: those things by which you joined me in committing shirk (associating others) with Allah, who is Al Wahid Al Ahad, The Only One, As Samad, The Eternal One on whom all depends, with whom nothing can be associated at all…
Min qablu: from what happened in the world of delusion and lies and deception.
Inna ad dalimeena: Indeed, the transgressors, the ones who are outside the parameters of the fulfillment of Allah’s Commands and what He forbids in hostility and in deviance…
Lahum: for them today…
Adaaun aleem: is a painful torment.
It made me think of the two verses I had translated about the human will. Its existence only by virtue of God’s Will. The first verse was for everyone and the word that caught my eye was “conscience.”
وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلْعَلَمِينَ
And you cannot will it unless Allah wills it.
Surah At-Takwir, Verse 29
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And the end of this chapter is this, that indeed…
Ma tasha’oona: what you will and what you choose in the way of your conscience and guidance for yourselves…
Illa ayyasha Allahu: is not except that which Allah wills for your guidance and gives you ability for with steadfastness and morality, as a favour upon you and His Bounty.
Because the deeds performed by you in your routine are only coming from Allah, generated by Him in their origin, because He is the Only One, Glory be to Him…
Rabbul Alimeen: Sustainer of the Universe. There is no Sustainer present except Him and there is no Disposer of Affairs in the apparent realms except Him. And the demand of His Nurturing and making perfect and complete is fulfilled by guiding His Servants and granting them ability towards that which is best for them and what is the most suitable for their situation.
The second applied only for His Friends, the Mutaqarraboon:
وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًۭا
But you cannot will it unless Allah wills it.
Indeed, Allah is All Knowing, All wise.
Surah Al Insaan, Verse 30
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: But…
Ma tasha’oona: you cannot will anything, those who attained Allah’s Qurb i.e. Closeness, the Mutaqarraboon, who travel towards Him according to their ability from Allah and ease from Allah…
Illa ayya sha’ Allah: except that which Allah wills, who is Al Muwaffiq, The One who grants ability, Al Mujid, The One who creates, Al Muqaddir, The One who decides destiny, for their (the Mutaqaarbeen’s) routine actions and deeds, Al Munji, The One who saves them from the invisibility of possibilities and the darkness of thoughts and paranoia.
Innallaha: Indeed, Allah is Al Muttali’u, The One who is Fully Aware of the ability of His Servants.
Kana Aleemun: And He is The Knower of their capacity that makes one able to receive the Bounty of Kashf, unveiling and Shuhood, eye-witnessing.
Hakeem an: Allah, He is All Wise in their nurturing and their completion.
Everything in these days was highlighting that my refuge only existed in “The One who saves them from the invisibility of possibilities and the darkness of thoughts and paranoia.” I thought of Shaan. He was saved. In his routine actions and deeds, in his words, he was innocent and he was kind. He instantly forgave those who were mean to him. I saw it. There was never grudge. He was made pure.
He repelled negativity naturally by leaving the space it sprung in. Often when he was around my friends, who he seemed initially excited to meet, he would leave within 10 minutes of us hanging out. It took that much time, if not less, for someone to start gossiping or saying something critical about someone. I would look around and he would be gone, either walking outside or watching a video on his game.
It was like he knew the incident:
A man reviled Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique (ratu) in the presence of Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him). The Prophet of God (peace be upon him) remained seated. He looked pleased and smiled. The man insulted Hazrat Abu Bakr (ratu) twice but the latter controlled himself and remained silent. He insulted him for a third time and Hazrat Abu Bakr (ratu) let his tongue loose and responded back.
At that time the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) got up and left. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique (ratu) followed after him and said, “Ya Rasool Allah (peace be upon you)! He insulted me and you just sat there. Then when I responded to some of what he said, you became angry and left.”
The Prophet of God (peace be upon him) replied. “There was an angel with you who was responding to his insults on your behalf. When you insulted him back, the evil Jinn appeared and I don’t sit in the company of Shaitaan. Keep in mind a thing which is always true Abu Bakr: Whenever a person is subjected to an injustice but leaves the matter to Allah, then Allah will come to his aid.”
A verse that I had uttered practically since birth took on a renewed significance, one that I had entirely ignored my whole life in my saying it purely verbatim.
I seek refuge from Satan, the accursed.
Since reading in so many verses that refuge was sought in Allah, I was trying to be more mindful of saying the line. Sometimes mid-prayer inane distracting thoughts would enter my mind, sometimes disturbing ones and I would say the line mid-prayer.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ طَٓئِفٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلشَّيْطَنِ تَذَكَّرُوا۟ فَإِذَا هُم مُّبْصِرُونَ
Indeed, those who are mindful and conscious of Allah, when touches them an evil thought from the Shaitaan,
they remember Allah and then they are those who begin to see things clearly.
Surah Al-Araaf, Verse 201
Tafseer e Jilani:
Then said Allah reminding His Beloved (peace be upon him);
Innalladina ittaqau: Those who are conscious and mindful of Me amongst My Servants, they are in a routine such that…
Ida massahum: whenever touches them and tries to overcome them…
Taifun: the sender from Satan who awaits and encircles their hearts…
Min Ash-Shaitan tadakkaru: they remind themselves of what they been commanded to do and what is forbidden for them from Allah…
Fa idahum: so in the same moment, due to the remembrance of what has been commanded and that which is forbidden…
Mubsiroon: they become able to differentiate the placement of the sins and therefore become careful of them and come into the Refuge of Allah from those things that put them into false illusions about Him.
Especially when anger came upon me. As rare as it had become, when it appeared it was still as consuming as the early days, when I can only admit with shame, I reveled in it. It’s ability to overpower and defeat another. Anyone!
وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ نَزْغٌ فَٱسْتَعِذْ بِٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
If an evil suggestion come to you from Satan stirring you (to blind anger),
then seek refuge with Allah. Surely He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
Surah Al-A’raf, Verse 200
Tafseer e Jilani:
Wa Imma Yanazaghannaka: So if reaches you whispers which then disappear, thus placing you in a state of disruption…
Min Shaitaan: it is from Shaitaan, who influences you physically through the organs which cause anger and stokes the ego in a way that is only ignorant creating a false sense of dignity…
Nazghun: causing doubts and delusions that persuade you to become angry and take you out of the state that you have been ordered to stay in, which is tolerance and softness of behaviour.
Fasta’iz billah: So come into the Refuge of Allah from these entrapments and return to Him from these doubts and this plotting. He is with His Glory Enough to protect you from his evil and treachery.
Inna hu: Indeed, Allah is Pure from everything that is negative…
Sami’un: and is the Acceptor of your prayers,
Aleem: and the Fulfiller of your needs.
The above verse was in particular a breakthrough for me. All that angered me all the time was around the feeling of disrespect. Recently I had raged because of people disrespecting Shaan. Who cared nothing about it. It wasn’t just gossip he didn’t engage in. It was also anger, complaining, even sadness.
If I thought someone tried to dismiss him or take advantage of his naiveté, I would fly off the handle. The recent incident that came to mind was on the 12th of Rabbul Awwal, the day that the Universe celebrates the birthday of the Mercy for it, I had a gathering at my house. Shaan came. He told me there was no water at his apartment for the last day and a half so he wanted to bathe and change at mine.
“Why didn’t you tell me there was no water Shaan?” I asked concerned. “I would have called the landlord.” Who I was already furious at for kicking Shaan out of the place because he couldn’t figure out the lock and key situation. He had then set conditions that Shaan couldn’t leave the house unattended in case he left something ajar again. He had to be picked and dropped because he couldn’t leave the house alone in case he left something unlocked. I wanted to call the guy and yell at him.
Then the opportunity for revenge appeared. Courtesy of Iblis! The landlord had to return the security deposit. He was play hardball saying I will keep this and I will deduct them. I called up someone I knew in the police. The police in Pakistan have a particular reputation of extraction in the worst way possible. I imagined him being slapped around when his first reaction, given his arrogance, would be of refusal.
For two night though the fantasy left me sleepless. During the day I would feel fine making a decision for retribution which was justified for many reasons; the man was a bully. He was treating me the way he was only because I was a woman. That was standard in Pakistan. No one took us seriously. A downside I hardly ever experienced so now that I was, my being livid was off the charts. Plus there was always the “decent” excuse. If I didn’t teach him a lesson, he would do it to someone else. At night I would lie thinking, am I doing the right thing? Am I doing it for my ego or is it justice well deserved?
The sleeplessness should have been the tell. If I was doing it for the right reason, I would have slept like a baby.
It was exactly like how the verse described; my organs were making me angry, my ego was being stoked in a way that was definitely only ignorant. I was well outside the circles of tolerance and softness of behaviour. And I was being jahil, in this case denying the truth, that Nabi Kareem (saw) would have forgiven him for sure because he literally forgave everyone everything.
Then there was the other factor; running to people to get something done. It was rendering me restless and humiliated. That was really all that I knew was deserved.
I even did an istakhara; ask the Quran what to do. The verse that had come was this;
وَمَا يَسْتَوِى ٱلْبَحْرَانِ هَـٰذَا عَذْبٌ فُرَاتٌ سَآئِغٌ شَرَابُهُۥ وَهَـٰذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌ ۖ
وَمِن كُلٍّ تَأْكُلُونَ لَحْمًا طَرِيًّا وَتَسْتَخْرِجُونَ حِلْيَةً تَلْبَسُونَهَا ۖ
وَتَرَى ٱلْفُلْكَ فِيهِ مَوَاخِرَ لِتَبْتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ
وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
The two bodies of water are not alike: one is fresh, palatable, and pleasant to drink
and the other is salty and bitter.
Yet from them both you eat tender seafood and extract ornaments to wear.
And you see the ships ploughing their way through both,
so you may seek His Bounty and give thanks to Him.
Surah Fatir, Verse 12
At the time I was told the sign was to go ahead. Pull the trigger on sending in the troops so to speak and “extract” all that was owed. The amount itself was so insignificant, I can’t even mention it here. I had worked around that too in my head; it wasn’t about the money, it was the principal at stake blah blah blah…
At dinner I was relieved the verse gave me the green light. By midnight I hadn’t sleep so at Fajr, I prayed and wept and apologized to Allah and His Rasool (saw) for being eternally out of control. In endless waves. During the prayer, I thought of the verse in the istakhara as the two rivers being my soul and my ego. One sweet and pleasant, the other salty and bitter. Both however had corals for me.
Initially I had seen myself as the pleasant, sweet, palatable river. My ego was thrilled. The landlord was the salty bitter nightmare. Of course! But at Fajr I saw it differently. The two bodies, separate and opposite were within my own self; the first was my soul, the second my nafs. In both were jewels for me. One polished my heart so my Qalb could gain recognition of God. The other was nothing but a reminder of Him. Or so was my reading of the situation.
I had come across a fascinating commentary by Hazrat Najumddin Kubra (ra) about the pact made between the nafs, the ruh (soul) and the batin (the inner being) every time a human being was created.
بَرَآءَةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ عَهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ
The disavowal from obligations by Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) from the covenant with the idolators.
Surah Tauba, Verse 1
Commentary by Hazrat Najmuddin Kubra (ra) on the verse:
The symbolic meaning of the verse is this: The mushrikeen, the idolator, is the wayward and polytheist nafs, the base self, who made desires its lord and master and began to worship the idols of the world. When a person is in their early years, the ruh and qalb, the soul and the heart within the heart which is the Station of Recognition of Allah, made a pact with the nafs.
The terms of it being that the ruh and the qalb will not fight and kill the nafs until the person reaches maturity. Similarly, the nafs also makes a pact not to instigate problems with the ruh and the qalb so that the bodily skeleton reaches complete maturity and the physical strength is attained at its peak, which carry the burden of Allah’s Trust and become watchful of Islamic Jurisprudence, the Shari’a.
In this time, the aql, the intellect, the power to reason and reflect, becomes strong which can then accept the invitation of Truth and have the ability to answer it. It is this aql that allows the recognition of the Prophets and their miracles. And it is through this aql that the proof of the Presence of Allah is established and it understands the compulsion of His Worship in order to express gratitude towards Him for His Blessings.
Indeed, Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) withdraw from the pact after maturity is gained.
Because Man broke the pact which was between the nafs and the ruh and the qalb. Before maturity was gained, the nafs was only focused on eating, drinking and clothing itself so that the body can develop and all its needs are met. To this extent, there was no problem for the ruh and the qalb from the nafs. But once maturity was gained, lust and desires became added to these needs.
When the lust appeared along with the need for food and drink, its destruction, created physical desires for a mate. When that lust was aroused and started tempting the body, the qalb and the ruh began to become weak. This was the fatal disease for which the Prophets were sent so as to dispel it.
انما بعثت لرفع العادات و ترک الشھوات
Just like Nabi Kareem (peace be upon said),
“I have been sent to end the ways of ignorance and to prevail over the desires of lust.”
“It’s cool Ma’am,” Shaan had said about the water situation, answering me with his favourite response. “I didn’t want to disturb you. I made do with whatever water I had in the fridge.”
Two hours later we had found out that Shaan had left one of the taps in the house open so the water from the now fixed water tank was gone again. I didn’t care. “Tell them,” I told my driver, “that if he didn’t complain about not having water for two days, they can shut up about a running tap.”
The match that could light that anger was right next to me I was told.
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
مَا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا وَقَدْ وُكِّلَ بِهِ قَرِينُهُ مِنْ الْجِنِّ
قَالُوا وَإِيَّاكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ
قَالَ وَإِيَّايَ إِلَّا أَنَّ اللَّهَ أَعَانَنِي عَلَيْهِ فَأَسْلَمَ فَلَا يَأْمُرُنِي إِلَّا بِخَيْرٍ
The Prophet of God (peace be upon him) said, “There is no one amongst you except that next to him is an associate from the Jinn (who propels him towards sin.)
The Companions asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Even with you?”
He replied, “And even with me except that Allah helped me against him and he surrendered so (now) he doesn’t say order me towards anything except goodness.
Ghaus Pak (ra) says, “Melt your nafs, your desires and your nature with regular fasting, constant salat and constant patience. When that melting is made right for a person, then his Lord remains without any interference. The only thing that then remains is the qalb, the batin and God; open-ness without tightness, illness without disease.
Use your powers to reflect! Gain knowledge, act upon it, and become sincere.”
In Lahore, I had been reading Surah Tauba on my own. In the last few verses to command to establish prayer had been coming up a lot.
إِنَّمَا يَعْمُرُ مَسَجِدَ ٱللَّهِ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْءَاخِرِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَلَمْ يَخْشَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ ۖ
فَعَسَىٰٓ أُو۟لَٓئِكَ أَن يَكُونُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلْمُهْتَدِينَ
Only those who will maintain the Masajid of Allah, who believes in Allah and the Last Day
and establishes the prayer and gives the zakat and does not fear anyone except Allah.
Then perhaps, they are of the guided ones.
Surah Tauba, Verse 18
I focused on the tafseer of the words aqaam as salat - establish prayer: “Because it always keeps the inclination and focus on Allah alone.”
That wasn’t true for me but then I wasn’t praying like I was told to, as if I was seeing God.
فَإِن تَابُوا۟ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَوُا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ فَإِخْوَنُكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ ۗ
If they repent and pray and give the purifying alms, they become your brethren in faith.
Surah Tauba, Verse 11
Aqamus Salat: “Establish prayer for it cleanses their batin, inner being, from inclination from anything other than Allah.’
I wondered when and how that would ever happen for me.
Then one evening I had asked Shaan; “In the Quran, Shaan, it says “establish prayer.” Not read it or perform it. “Aqeemu salat” – establish prayer. What does that mean to you?”
Shaan flicked his hair aside and just said matter of factly, “I think it means when you pray, pray with a pure, truthful heart. When it is clean and cleansed of everything.”
I just stared at him. He wasn’t even praying yet he was in a state of establishing prayer. Which I had heard Uzair describe as being on the prayer mat the same as off of it; Physically clean and focused on Allah alone. The ablution was a requirement we could fulfill and hope it was correctly performed. But the singular focus on God, zero distraction, who had that in their salat?
Shaan was what had gotten me interested in the verses about the nature of Man in the Quran; the verses that had to do with me, not him.
إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَنَ لِرَبِّهِۦ لَكَنُودٌۭ
Indeed Man towards his Lord is forever ungrateful.
Surah Al Adiyat, Verse 1
Tafseer e Jilani:
And overall Allah takes oaths, great, (upon previous verses to say):
Innal insaana: Indeed, Man who is formed in ingratitude and forgetfulness…
Li Rabbihi: towards His Lord, who raised him in varying types of karam, Blessings, and ehsaan, Favour,
La kanood: is ungrateful and denies the Truth, transgressing the boundaries of ingratitude and denial of Truth and is tyrannical.
وَإِنَّهُۥ عَلَىٰ ذَلِكَ لَشَهِيدٌۭ
And indeed, surely he is a witness.
Surah Al Adiyat, Verse 6
Wa Innahu: And indeed, the nafs of Insaan, Man’s own self…
Ala’ dalika: upon his tyranny and his ingratitude and denial of truth…
La shaheed: is a witness. The effects of kufran, ingratitude and denial of Truth and tughyan, oppression, appear upon him forever.
The Stages of Life
Sometimes there are years when one’s learning is intense. For me those years have been few and far apart quite literally. This happened to be one of them. I wrote prolifically, read abundantly and tried to brand my heart with ideas that turned all of my modi operandi on their head.
Recap:
“Every heart that preoccupies itself with that which does not concern it (past/future) will be punished immediately by missing out on that which is its genuine concern at that moment.”
Of everything I had read about “living in the moment,” this was the most invaluable. As a result of it in every moment where I catch myself just beginning to fret, I recall Hazrat Tustari’s (ra) line and check myself. Enough moments have been lost, simply vaporized. Enough self-inflicted punishments doled out.
“Truly anger (ghadab) and harshness (hidda) come from the servant’s dependence on his own strength (quwwa). However, when he gives up relying on his own strength, weakness will take up residence in his soul, and this will generate mercy (rahma) and benevolence (lutf) from him, which is to take on the characteristics of the Lord, His Majesty be magnified.”
I discover, to this day, that even when my tongue expressed the mildest form of irritation, I was exerting power. Inevitably I was expecting, no secretly demanding, subservience or apologies, ideally in the form of groveling, from the other. It was because of my inordinate fixation on admission of fault. It was both disgusting and amazing.
During the first week of Rabul Awwal I went to my village to get a break from the city. On the first day there I heard a lecture by Uzair on the stages of life vis a vis the Quran. It blew me away that it had been outlined so exactly what each person was going to experience through the course of their time on this Earth. In just one part of one verse no less!
عْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ
وَلَهْو
وَزِينَةٌ
وَتَفَاخُرٌ بَيْنَكُمْ
وَالْأَوْلَادِ ۖ وَتَكَاثُرٌ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ
Know that the life of this world is but a play
and a passing delight,
and an adornment,
and (the cause of) your boastful vying with one another,
and (of your) greed for more and more riches and children.
Surah Al-Hadid, Verse 20
“The first stage Allah calls ‘play,’” is how Uzair started. “As we all know a child, wherever they are in the world, only wants to play, have a toy. They can be consumed by that one thing from morning till night, be it as simple as holding a doll or rolling an old tire down a street. Then comes the second phase: when the child gets a little older they like watching things that provide amusement. The toys are not enough.”
I listened to each word Uzair uttered intently and started mapping my own life on the path he described. I didn’t have a lot of toys. I was in a boarding school at five and a half and I don’t remember having any there. The second stage I related to somewhat more. When I returned to Lahore I was 10. I loved watching magic tricks, snake charmers and the like when it came to spectatorship that offered amusement. There was this one show near my house in Fortress where a bike rider would drive his motorcycle in circles around a steel well at top speed defying gravity while we watched from above. “Maut ka Kuan” it was called – the Well of Death! “Check!” I ticked the box.
“When they hit their teens, the child starts suddenly becomes aware of beauty and adornment.”
Stage three, zeenat.
“They are becoming conscious of their own looks and appearance as well as that of others. They start getting into styles, developing their own, emulating whoever they idolize. They pay attention to their hair and notice the other gender. They become admirers and sometimes they are admired.”
Stage three made me smile. My teen years were the opposite of my friends. The boarding school had yielded me unaware about literally everything except how to study my butt off. To be fair that was my experience of course, not everyone’s. In Lahore well in to being 16 my mother bought my clothes. She decided how they would be stitched. She even chose my haircut.
I didn’t care. I had no opinion about any of it. I didn’t notice boys. I was never around any I didn’t know. There were so many in my own extended family that I was busy hanging out with all the time. It took up all my attention for the other gender. I was so busy studying, I wasn't adorning myself nor noticing others' do it.
As Uzair continued I couldn’t help but reflect on how the world had changed so dramatically in just 50 years, my own time on it. These days children became conscious of beauty so early in life. At five, six, seven. Who was pretty and who wasn’t, certainly if they were or not.
So many teens felt anxiety and depression constantly. It made my heart feel heavy. How were they going to deal with the rest of life’s hardships if they too happened years earlier? What was preparing them for it when most of us, who had had much simpler lives, were so unprepared?
“Next come the 20s. 'Tafakhurr bainakum, boastful vying amidst yourselves.' Now beauty is a thing of the past in terms of commanding attention or fixating upon it. Now the young person wants to prove themself in the world. Who are they going to become, what will they earn, what will allow them to say they are better than others? What will distinguish them in society? What will they claim to be proud of as a personal achievement?”
“And in the fifth stage that I am in,” Uzair pointed to himself, mentioning that he was in his 50s, “a person wants more of what they have. More wealth, more children, more wealth and children for their children.”
That was it. One half of a verse encompassed and explained the entire physical existence of a human being on this Earth. I marveled at how I had also missed out on the last two stages entirely. My career was derailed and remained so when my mother passed. I was 26 then and what was a path, which would have certainly yielded only extreme boredom and sameness, abruptly ended. Hence there was never anything to boast about. There were riches unexpected, only as a mercy from God, but I was not going to cause increase in them by any means. I didn’t know how and I never learnt. Then I chose to remain single so there were no children.
But for most it did seem true. Once people had felt they had proved themselves, if they were even able to do that to their satisfaction, they certainly moved on to worrying about how their children would prove themselves before society. More wealth was usually hoped for. The children of children was most definitely a want.
The verse was stunning. It highlighted the insignificance of the overt, the worldly aspects of life, everyone treading the same path, footstep upon ordinary footstep. What did it yield? Was there happiness, contentment?
Uzair read the second part of the same verse:
كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ أَعْجَبَ الْكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُ
ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَاهُ مُصْفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَكُونُ حُطَامًا ۖ
وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانٌ ۚ
وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ
Like that of (life-giving) rain, the herbage which it causes to grow delights the tillers of the soil,
but then it withers and you can see it turn yellow and in the end it crumbles into dust.
But (the abiding truth of man’s condition will become fully apparent) in the life to come,
(either) suffering severe, or God’s forgiveness and His Goodly Acceptance,
for the life of this world is nothing but an enjoyment of self-delusion.
Surah Al-Hadid, Verse 120
“Everything about Man seems to be in love with earth and its ownership, its control. Other humans, homes, land, gold, commodities and all that comes from them. So if the Quran says that life overt is 'nothing but an enjoyment of self-delusion,' it is because a person is ignoring the other element of their construction, the soul. For when we die we will become dust but what will happen to the ruh (soul).”
Then he recited the verse:
مِنْهَا خَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ وَفِيهَا نُعِيدُكُمْ وَمِنْهَا نُخْرِجُكُمْ تَارَةً أُخْرَىٰ
Out of this earth have We created you, and into it shall We return you and out of shall We bring you forth once again – Surah Ta’ha, Verse 55
“A distinction has to be made here,” he noted. “A human being is made from earth but that doesn’t mean we are earth. Many buildings are made from earth but we call them by the name of their purpose, the function they fulfill distinctly; a school, a mosque, an office. A plate cannot serve as a glass and vice versa. Each thing has its own reason. So the point is to understand purpose.”
My mind immediately jumped to the one verse where purpose had been defined crystal clearly.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
I did not create Jinn and humans except to worship Me – Surah Ad-Dhariyat, Verse 56
But it is the word “worship” that is elusive. The ordinary read it to mean just the fulfillment of ritual but that is not what the extraordinary say. I studied the verse from the Tafseer e Jilani.
Ghaus Pak (ra): “I (God) have revealed Mankind in beings (form and shadows), in the best of faces unique, and placed inside them from the jewel of intellect/power to reflect.
Illa liyabudoon (except to worship Me): So that they gain ma’rifat, learn about Me. And become steadfast on My One-ness (Tauheed) and understand My Essence as Mustaqil, Permanent. And all Authorities are Mine and I am the only One who is Rightful of your obedience and of being worshipped without any association and without claim of another.”
Three words stood out for anyone exploring the concept of purpose and/or worship: “understand My Essence.”
When I asked Qari Sahib to explain how one understands Allah’s Essence, a secret was revealed. And it came from the first word, to understand, not the one I thought we were going to start with, Essence.
Qari Sahib began with a question; “For starters, how does one understand something? From the heart or the mind?”
“The mind,” I answered instinctively. Where else could comprehension and reflection lie if not in the intellect?
He smiled. “In the Quran, Allah says that understanding lies in the heart.” Then he began to cite verse after verse that proves it.
وَمَن يُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ يَهْدِ قَلْبَهُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
And whosoever believeth in God, He guideth his heart - Surah At-Taghabun, Verse 11
وَطُبِعَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَهُمْ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ
And their hearts are sealed, so that they apprehend not – Surah At-Taubah, Verse 87
قُلُوبٌۭ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا
And they have hearts but they understand not - Surah Al-Araaf, Verse 179
The connection of all was to the heart. If it was dark, it was dead. If it was dead there was no understanding anything. Aristotle was among those philosophers who argued that the heart is the center of sensation and knowledge. Time and again, science echoed the same.
“According to a research conducted by Dr J Andrew Armour in 1991, the heart is said to be containing about 40,000 neurons that create its compound circuitry, which enables it for the functionality of sensing, regulating and remembering to suffice qualifying it a sort of brain in its own sphere (Rahman & Hassan, 2013).
This will help the world of intellectuals to understand how these two organs communicate with each other for managing our cognitive activities. On explaining how the two communicate, McCraty (n.d) said: ‘There is information going from the heart to the brain than the other way, and this information influences regions in the brain, and a major of this information comes from heart.’”
I looked up the verses on the heart. Beyond the ability to understand, the Quran outlines what lies in a heart that is sick. The list was expansive; anger, cruelty, pride, denial, doubt, anxiety. Therefore if the heart was diseased, no change or evolving, even recovery of any kind could be possible. It didn’t matter how “intelligent” someone was and what they accomplished through intellect alone. It rendered an overt existence missing its purpose in its appointed term.
يَعْلَمُونَ ظَـٰهِرًۭا مِّنَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ هُمْ غَـٰفِلُونَ
They know but the outer surface of this world’s life, whereas of the ultimate things (the Hereafter), they are utterly heedless – Surah Rum, Verse 7
أَوَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرُوا فِي أَنفُسِهِم مَّا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى
Have they not reflected upon their own being? Allah only created the heavens and the Earth and everything in between for a purpose and an appointed term – Surah Ar-Rum, Verse 8
Qari Sahib ended on a sobering note.
“To know someone or something you have to approach with sincerity, ikhlaas. Let us never forget that each and every soul on this Earth has already seen God, heard God. No one reminds us of that in Quran more than Allah Himself, when He says:
أَوَلَمْ يَرَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰهُ مِن نُّطْفَةٍۢ فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌۭ مُّبِينٌۭ
Does a human being not consider that We created him from a (mere) fertilized ovum, yet he becomes a fierce adversary? – Surah Yaseen, Verse 77
The problem is we have forgotten.
وَضَرَبَ لَنَا مَثَلًۭا وَنَسِىَ خَلْقَهُۥ ۖ
And he (the human being) sets forth for Us an example and forgets his (own) creation - Surah Yaseen, Verse 78
“But at the end of the day,” Qari Sahib said with a sigh, “whoever wants to believe can believe, whoever doesn’t want to believe, it’s their choice.”
وَقُلِ ٱلْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ فَمَن شَآءَ فَلْيُؤْمِن وَمَن شَآءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ ۚ
And say (O Beloved), “The truth (is) from your Lord, so whoever wills - let him believe and whoever wills - let him disbelieve” – Surah Al-Kahf, Verse 29
“A time comes when they might choose. Allah even defines the age at which for most the process of gaining this knowledge of God begins. Forty!”
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُۥ وَبَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةًۭ قَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَىَّ
وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَـٰلِحًۭا تَرْضَىٰهُ وَأَصْلِحْ لِى فِى ذُرِّيَّتِىٓ ۖ
إنِّى تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّى مِنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ
Until, when he reaches his maturity and reaches forty year(s), he says, “My Lord, grant me (the) power that I may be grateful (for) Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and that I do righteous (deeds) which please You, and make righteous for me among my offspring, indeed, I turn to You and indeed, I am of those who submit.” – Surah Al-Ahqaf, Verse 15
I let his words sink in as he recited verse after verse to make his point. It was not alien to me. I had gathered from my readings of the malfuzaat of the Auliya Karaam what differentiated people from each other, what created distinction: It was their knowing God versus just believing in Him.
On another day Qari Sahib again expanded on the meaning of worship for me. The formula he gave came while we were studying the tafseer of Surah Yasin. Was it any wonder that the revelation would come forth through the heart of the Quran. The word itself had an entirely different meaning now.
“Jab ita’at mein muhabbat aati hai, uss mein shamil hoti hai, to usse ibadat kehtain hain.”
Or to put it in mathematical terms:
Obedience + LOVE = Worship
I knew the benefits of obedience well. It was the reason I had come as far as I had in terms of my spiritual journey. The root of it in terms of relationships was the one with my mother. I was intensely dutiful to my single parent. But then I was also the middle child, typically ignored and therefore in a perpetual mode to be “good.” Still, I knew my obedience was rooted in love because my heart beat exactly with hers, when she was before my eyes at least. I cried when she cried not knowing why. I smiled when she laughed not knowing why.
As time and the gains from reading shaped my identity as a Muslim, deepening my grooves, creating new ones, I came to understand the second element from one of my favourite surahs in the Quran, Al-Inshirah. “Love” constituted what was beyond duty and obligation. As Allah addresses Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him), the last line of the surah reads:
فَإِذَا فَرَغْتَ فَٱنصَبْ
So once you have fulfilled (your duty), strive (in devotion),
وَإِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ فَٱرْغَب
And unto your Sustainer, turn with love - Surah Al-Inshirah, Verse 7-8
The tafseer of the line is the direction to the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) to turn his attention towards God after the completion of his duties, which includes everything obligatory. When he is free from all of it, then when he turns towards God, that is the time of receiving Divine Love. It was what first prompted me to increase the prayer of choice, the nawafil. Then I came upon this hadith Qudsi:
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:
وَمَا تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ عَبْدِي بِشَيْءٍ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا افْتَرَضْتُ عَلَيْهِ، وَمَا يَزَالُ عَبْدِي يَتَقَرَّبُ إِلَيَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ حَتَّى أُحِبَّهُ
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said that Allah says:
…My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him,
and My servant continues to draw near to Me with prayers beyond the requirements of duty,
so that I shall love him…
Beyond the requirements of duty so that I shall love him!
Farz were obligatory, Sunnat were prayed in obedience to Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) as directed by God. But nawafil were only and only voluntary. And all acts of worship voluntary are rooted only in love. It was the exact reason sadqa was ranked much higher than zak’at.
My nawafil had first increased in number courtesy of Ghaus Pak (ra) and Shuggy Aunty. Before that I was reading some while my mother was alive but entirely out of obedience. To her not God. Whilst in college and then working, I would get a random call from her where she uttered one liners:
“Tonight is Shab e Baraat, pray some nafal.”
“Tonight is Shab e Mairaj, pray nawafil.”
No number, no context, no urging. It was an amr, an order, with no follow-up or concern around acquiescence. I wonder if the other siblings received those commands. It was through her that respect for Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) was instilled in my family as a child but my mother forgot to mention loving him, although she did herself.
How did I know that? When she taught me how to pray for the first time in my life, her nerves frayed, making me nervous all long as she made me bend to touch my knees, irritated when I forgot the movements, she said this part softly and I never forgot it.
“After the prayer is over, bow your head in prostration as you do during the sajda, keep your palms flat facing upwards and ask Allah for what you want.”
She never once said what the “right” thing to ask for was. I wasted the first few years asking for inane things, most likely doing well in school since it took up 99% of my entire existence, mental and emotional.
“But when you start it, your dua (supplication), begin by saying, ‘Any good that I do and any blessings that I receive from any goodness that You like, I ask you, Allah, to send that blessing to my Prophet (peace be upon him) and his daughter, Hazrat Bibi Fatima (ratu)” then to x,y,z, whoever you want.’”
She didn’t even hint as to who the x, y, z should be. Was it her dead parents? She didn’t name herself. As I write this, I see the room and the prayer mat. I see her sitting there on her bed instructing me and me, listening to her intently while casting my eyes downward, wanting my execution to be perfect, desperate not to make mistakes.
A few months ago I was with a friend in a salon. While I waited for her to get her nails done, I overheard a conversation between a mother and her seven or eight year old daughter. The mother was practically pleading with her to get a trim.
“Do it for my sake, just because I am asking you to do it,” she said a few times invoking the words, “my sake” repeatedly, while the kid stared at her feet, looking sullen. Obedience was clearly resisted but where was the love?
When did seven year olds become the primary decision makers, I wondered as I watched them. If I had to make my own decisions early in life, I would have been mute and frozen at every crossroad, simply standing there till someone behind me shoved me in some direction.
Shuggy Aunty told me that she prayed almost 100 nawafil each night, in addition to thousands of darood shareef and recitation of the Quran. She had been doing it for decades. In her nawafil she asked God to send His Blessings upon Prophets and Saints, Angels and people who she thought were extraordinary.
The list was impressive. It included statesmen, philosophers poets, actors, singers, artists. There was Mr. Jinnah, Allama Iqbal, Madam Nur Jahan. I believe Artugul had made the list recently. I wasn’t sure if it was the historical figure or the actor. Probably both! It was because of her that I was inspired to pray nawafil and send the blessings to specific persons most beloved to God that I connected with deeply.
Ghaus Pak (ra) became the reason I recently started saying a very specific two nafal at the prayer before Fajr. In striving towards the consummation of the purpose of my creation, it was a God send in terms of the ask.
“O seeker! Get up at Tahajjud and pray two nafal (bi-niyyat hasool e ma’rifat), with the intention of gaining Gnosis. Then ask Allah for this: ‘Dear Lord, Of those who are the good in Your Creation, inform me of them. Make me acquainted with the one who will show me the way to You, who will feed me with the food of Your Bounty (fazl), and give me drink from the wine of Your Love and put the kohl of the light of Your Closeness (qurb) upon the eye of my heart (qalb).”
Subhan Allah!
I had read in the Quran that one’s faults were only shown to a person who was conscious of God. Otherwise they would become hidden. And when they would appear, they would appear only as correct, thereby reducing the possibility of reversal to zero.
أَفَمَن زُيِّنَ لَهُۥ سُوٓءُ عَمَلِهِۦ فَرَءَاهُ حَسَنًۭا ۖ
Are those whose evil-doing is made so appealing to them that they deem it good? – Surah Al-Fatir, Verse 8
Closeness to God seemed to be a road filled with extraordinary difficulty. Self-analysis, reflection, constant mindfulness, acceptance of error and wrongdoing, all of which usually occurred throughout the day, if not night. I asked Qari Sahib if there wasn’t there an easier way to become amongst the ones chosen by God.
“How does one befriend God?” I asked smiling. “Shortcut wise,” making my question clearer.
He smiled back.
“It’s not a bad thing. Shortcuts must be sought so the soul does not have to toil and carry burdens that are ever increasing. Look at the examples of those who are promised closeness by way of deed. The martyr has to sacrifice life. End it in the Way of God. That is extremely difficult for most of us. The sacrifice has to be for the right cause otherwise the same act lands one in Hell.”
I knew the hadith he was referring to. It was also a hadith Qudsi and extremely well known.
I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say that Allah says:
'The first of people against whom judgment will be pronounced on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favours and he will recognize them.
Allah will say, “And what did you do about them?”
He will say, “I fought for you until I died a martyr.”
And Allah will say, “You have lied - you did but fight that it might be said (of you), ‘He is courageous.’ And so it was said.”
Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire.'
The hadith continues in the same form for the scholar and the wealthy person whose reasons again were worldly, who wished to be known by others as “learned,” who wanted to the title of “generous” from mortals. They were driven by pride alone.
“If you choose the path of worship to gain affinity with Allah, it is also exceedingly difficult. Even if it is obedience with love. Can we say a 1,000 nawafil a day like the Friends of God who did it in emulation of Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) and his family? Can we fast for many days each week beyond Ramadan? Most likely not. More so, are we willing to sacrifice everything we possess, everyone we love to receive Closeness?”
It was certainly a rhetorical question for me. I can barely break a habit of the most inane variety.
“Once again the Mercy of God comes to us easiest in the form of a human being. Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) gives us the way, the easy way that you seek:
السخی حبیب اللہ
'The generous one is a Friend of God.'
And in another tradition he continues:
لو کانا فاسق
'Even if he is sinful.'”
I felt relief. Whether one takes it or not, it’s always nice to know of a path leading away from the thick of a jungle impenetrable by light. Who knows when the ability to take a step on it might be gifted?
Qari Sahib continued: “The level of resistance to that which is harmful (body or soul) is a function of gratitude. Gratitude is a function of good deeds, acts of kindness for another. You know this.
The best of those deeds is feeding the needy. You have studied almost all of the verses in the Quran that express spending for the Sake of Allah clearly, from the beginning of the Book in Al-Baqarah all the way till the end. Express your gratitude through your generosity and cut all the corners you want.
Let me give you a different argument for why giving to the needy is the key to everything: Kaffara is the penalty for breaking a rule in our faith, for transgression of a rule that has been set in jurisprudence. If the law is broken, the religion allows for recompense of the act to avoid punishment from God. What is that penance for so many things? For breaking an oath for instance?”
He cited the verse:
لَا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِٱللَّغْوِ فِىٓ أَيْمَـٰنِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن يُؤَاخِذُكُم بِمَا عَقَّدتُّمُ ٱلْأَيْمَـٰنَ ۖ
فَكَفَّـٰرَتُهُۥٓ إِطْعَامُ عَشَرَةِ مَسَـٰكِينَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ أَوْ كِسْوَتُهُمْ أَوْ تَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍۢ ۖ
فَمَن لَّمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلَـٰثَةِ أَيَّامٍۢ ۚ
ذَٰلِكَ كَفَّـٰرَةُ أَيْمَـٰنِكُمْ إِذَا حَلَفْتُمْ ۚ
وَٱحْفَظُوٓا۟ أَيْمَـٰنَكُمْ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
God will not take you to task for oaths which you may have uttered without thought, but He will take you to task for oaths which you have sworn in earnest.
Thus, breaking an oath, must be atoned for by feeding 10 needy persons with the same food as you normally give to your own families, or by clothing them, or by freeing a human being from bondage – Surah Maida, Verse 89
“On top of that if you break a fast, to make up for it you feed 60 poor people. If you are unwell or for whatever reason unable to keep a fast, you have to feed one poor person for each unkept fast.”
أوَعَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُۥ فِدْيَةٌۭ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍۢ ۖ
فَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًۭا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌۭ لَّهُۥ ۚ
وَأَن تَصُومُوا۟ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
For those who can only fast with extreme difficulty, compensation can be made by feeding a needy person (for every day not fasted).
But whoever volunteers to give more, it is better for them. And to fast is better for you, if only you knew – Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 184
“And the instruction of the how is even more clear. What should you feed the poor person? It can be any range of things that can be dirt cheap to super expensive. How do you know what the right meal is, whether it’s for one person or a hundred? Luckily we don’t have to rely on our instincts which will likely steer towards miserliness.”
He repeated the verse:
مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ
… must be atoned for by feeding 10 needy persons with the same food as you normally give to your own families…
“Oh no!” was my first thought.
All those times I had fed the homeless in foreign lands. All those times I had fed the indigent travelers in Mecca and Medina. All those times I distributed food in my own city. It was never anything I ate myself. I was so finicky. I thought I was executing the act so superbly allowing them to pick their own meal.
The first time I started eating literally the same thing I was giving the poor was this year with the meal I was distributing on the Mondays I had recently started fasting on every week. I looked forward to it and it was true. The meal held a deliciousness that was at par with all my foodie favourites all over the world.
I felt grateful the occasion had entered my life. Perhaps it was because I was celebrating Nabi Kareem’s (peace be upon him) birthday that the act had been allowed to be executed for me so that there was nothing lacking. There was nothing about my own nafs that was usually robbing me, even from within my own supposed acts of goodness.
Qari Sahib ended on a somber note: “The saddest part is that we pray and pray and we think we are so good when we barely fulfill what is obligatory. And that too with much distraction. How many of us have ever honored the orphan?”
بَل لَّا تُكْرِمُونَ ٱلْيَتِيمَ
You do not honor the orphan – Surah Al-Fajr, Verse 17
It was the word “tukrimoona” that I looked up. It has been translated as being “gracious towards, generous to” and the word Qari Sahib used, “to honor.” It was something I had specifically intended to do at the beginning of the year, then totally forgotten. Now it had come up again 11 months into the year. I began thinking about it and one question recurred in my head. How did one “honor” the orphan? I looked up the tafseer of the verse.
Tafseer e Jilani: “Man thinks that the standard of respect and regard given to him by God is a function of how much material wealth he possesses. Therefore he also believes that a state of humiliation from God, zillat, is that of the one who lives a life of poverty and financial need.
But before Allah, honor and respect, izzat, is endowed upon the one who spends on the poor and feeds the hungry to gain His Pleasure. That is why He says, ‘O one bestowed with wealth! You do not honor the the orphan and see how they are doing, how are they spending their life, what are they wearing and eating. Nor do you emphasize to each other the feeding of the needy.”
And as far as respect went:
ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَّخِذُونَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۚ
أَيَبْتَغُونَ عِندَهُمُ ٱلْعِزَّةَ فَإِنَّ ٱلْعِزَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًۭا
Those who take the disbelievers as allies instead of the believers, do they seek with them honor? But indeed, all honor is for Allah – Surah An-Nisa, Verse 139
Then one day it struck me what honoring the orphan might mean. The orphan never asks anyone for anything. There is no one to ask. I knew that because I realized that I never asked anyone for anything and I wasn’t an orphan. I know my nature developed that way because of being away from my family at the age when a child does ask for things, big and small. But there was no birthday celebrated at the boarding school. There was no cake, there were no presents. It was a day amongst days. By the time I came home I didn’t care about getting things from other people. I didn’t care about my birthday. It remained a day amongst days.
As I grew older and understood the meaning of emotional generosity, a much harder feat than doling out money already in one’s pocket, I saw that it meant just that; asking someone what they wanted, doing for them what they liked. Therein also lay the ability to surprise someone which I have always loved doing. Executing a surprise entails a supremely confident guarantee of delight upon its unveiling.
I remember Qari Sahib once said, “When you ask God for something, you don’t say, ‘Give me what You want.’ You are very specific in your needs and wishes. You stress upon them again and again, sometimes for years. You beg for them and cry for them to come true. And more often that not, He gives you exactly that, not something else but what you asked for.”
Thus came about my plan for this 12th of Rabbul Awwal to visit three orphanages with a friend of mine’s children in a part of Lahore I didn’t know existed. In keeping with the order of the Quran, we took treats the kids would choose for themselves.
As we planned the day, the words from the Tafseer e Tustari roamed in my head: “Consider it a happy occasion when you are able to provide help to someone in need. Because you do not know what the next moment will bring. Destinies may change or life may be so short that you may not be able to complete an act or see a joy mature.”
The children were adorable. The ages ranged from 4 to 16. They were Muslim as well as Christian. I realized that when they prayed before they started to eat. Some of the little ones, their heads bent, cupped their tiny hands, whispering for what seemed a while. It took every ounce of my control to not ask them what they were saying for so long.
Two things stood out for me in particular from the day. The first was what the person who ran the first orphanage said to us while he was giving us the background for its foundation: “When we were young, there were days my parents came to us and said, ‘Today our lunch has been sent to so and so’s house because they are more in need for it than us.’”
“Like Hazrat Ali (ratu)!” I exclaimed.
“That is what they did,” he continued. And now my wife and children, we set up this orphanage and everything we need comes to us sooner or later by Allah.”
The second was someone from the last orphanage saying with a smile, “This is a first for us. People come every year on Eids but this is the first time someone has come to visit us on the 12th of Rabbul Awwal.”
I beamed. “Hamari qismat hai.”
Every time I do something right or wrong I palpably feel this verse of the Quran. When I do something wrong, I feel the tightness my anxiety creates in my heart almost immediately now. Whether I want to address it or suffer the misery lies in my own hands. When I do something good, I feel the lightness the deed brings.
لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ
In his favour shall be whatever good he does, and against him whatever evil he does – Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 285
Strangely enough, courtesy of doing something for an orphan for the first time, I became better about celebrating the blessings in my own life. For it was also in Rabbul Awwal this year I learnt that a blessing should be celebrated with exultation.
I had asked Qari Sahib to only study ahadith with me to mark the month of the blessed birth of Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him).
Unsurprisingly, he started the series with a bang and a half.
“Let’s ask God how He wants His Blessings celebrated?”
قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُون
Say (O Beloved), "In the Bounty (of) Allah and in His Mercy so in that let them rejoice." It is better than what they accumulate (in wealth) – Surah Yunus, Verse 58
“Rejoice!” Qari Sahib said in Punjabi. “Don’t dig a hole and hide your wealth in it, then place a chair over it and sit on it. Spend it. Be happy about what you have been bestowed, celebrate your blessings. Allah has given us many indeed. But the ultimate blessing that God has sent to Mankind is His Beloved (peace be upon him). Allah does us many favours for He has bestowed us, life, nature, wealth, health. The list is endless. But he emphasizes one as the grandest favour above all.”
Then he recited the verse:
لَقَدْ مَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًۭا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ
وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ لَفِى ضَلَـٰلٍۢ مُّبِينٍ
Certainly bestowed a Favor Allah upon the believers as He raised among them a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His Verses and purifying them, and teaching them the Book and the wisdom, although they were from before that certainly in the error clear – Surah Aal e Imran, Verse 164
Hearing the words reminded me of the guaranteed benefit of the act of celebrating the birth of the Prophet (peace be upon him), even for the most wretched human being. So even the celebrating was for our own good!
Begin excerpt “Ali is to me as I am to God”
قَالَ عُرْوَةُ: وثُوَيْبَةُ مَوْلاةٌ لأَبِي لَهَبٍ,
كَانَ أَبُو لَهَبٍ أَعْتَقَهَا فَأَرْضَعَت النبيّ فَلَمَّا مَاتَ أَبُو لَهَبٍ أُرِيَهُ بَعْضُ أَهْلِهِ بِشَرِّ حِيبَةٍ قَالَ لَهُ: مَاذَا لَقِيتَ؟ (ثُوَيْبَةَ)قَالَ أَبُو لَهَبٍ: لَمْ أَلْقَ بَعْدَكُمْ غَيْرَ أَنِّي سُقِيتُ فِي هَذِهِ بِعَتَاقَتِي
Hazrat Urwa (ratu) said, ‘Sawaiba was the slave of Abu Lahab and he freed her. She also nursed the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). After Abu Lahab died, some within his family saw him in a dream in a terrible state and asked him, ‘What did you gain?’ He answered, ‘I gained nothing after my separation from you except what I drink from that (the finger with) which I freed Sawaiba.’”
The explanation (sharha) of the hadith by the Islamic scholar Allama Badar-al Din-al Ayni is as follows:
As-Sohaili states that Hazrat Abbas (ratu) said, “After Abu Lahab died, I saw him in a dream in a terrible state and he said, ‘I gained no comfort after I died except for the lessening of my torment on the day Monday.’
Hazrat Abbas (ratu) said, ‘For that is the day the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was born and Sawaiba brought the good news to Abu Lahab about his birth and he freed her.’”
I had first heard the hadith in a lecture by my Spiritual Master by lineage, Pir Naseeruddin Naseer (ra), where he presented it as his argument (daleel) against those who say that Hazrat Ali’s (ratu) father and the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) paternal uncle, Hazrat Abu Talib (ratu), died an idolator (mushrik). Hazrat Abu Talib (ratu) was the one who raised the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was an orphan. He was the one who offered him protection from his adversaries in Mecca. He provided the only front that prevented them from inflicting upon him physical harm time and again.
Abu Lahab, “The Man Vowed to Hell-fire,” publicly declared himself an enemy of God and His Beloved (peace be upon him) from the earliest days of his propagating the message. And took pride in it. He is cursed by name by Allah Al-Muntaqim, The Retaliator, in the Quran (Surah Al-Masad, Verse 1). He displayed an open allegiance to idolatry throughout his life.
Despite his being was relegated to burn in Hell until the Day of Judgement, Abu Lahab had and would receive a bounty from his finger that expressed his happiness for a single instant upon hearing the news of the birth of deceased brother’s child, his nephew, who would later become the Messenger of God (peace be upon him). That single gesture expressing joy rewarded him with cold, sweet water every Monday, the day of his birth, till the end of time.
End excerpt “Ali is to me as I am to God”
So this Rabbul Awwal I celebrate the month like never before. Before I used to just do something only on the 12th. Now I try to do something every single day. One of the women who works for me told me that in her neighborhood, the decorative lights went up the night the new moon was sighted. From then on it was 30 days of festivities by both young and old. I had already made a video specifically to upload for Nabi Kareem’s (peace be upon him) birthday. So I started to distribute food more than ever.
To directly quote Shuggy Aunty, “Degon ke mun khol do (open the mouth of the cauldrons of food).”
Many people make the intention to recite the darood shareef to reach 125,000 by the 12th again as a present. I had been part of one group before but had hardly read anything. I was always intimidated by count in worship. For one thing I felt like it was something old women did, although the ones doing it usually for years now were my age. I also had a mental block around my own ability to pray that much on beads.
But this year when my friend suggested it, I was like, “I’m in for ten thousand.” It turned to be beyond easy. After day four I stopped caring about the counter. The number didn’t matter anymore. What it was doing for my sense of ease is inexpressible. The best way to communicate it is to say the finally my obedience was starting to be sprinkled with love. For the first time in my life, I was in a state of worship! I even called a friend in Cairo and one in Karachi to ask them to join in if they wanted. One did, the other didn’t. Everything comes with time. No one knew that better than me.
The strangest part about life is that destiny offers us all opportunity all the time. Taqdeer we call it in Urdu. Yet we turn our faces ourselves. Some of us deny our own identity of the faith that was bestowed upon us as the epitome of blessings. What else does one call having the Prophet amongst 124,000 who Allah loves like no one else. Others deny heritage and culture, even language and nationality. Qari Sahib explained to me why that happens.
“Things are written in our taqdeer, destiny, but are they in our naseeb, that which we partake in? Look at the Bani Israel. Which nation other than them upon this Earth was given food from the heavens just because they asked their Prophet, Moses (as), for it? None other.
وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْغَمَامَ وَأَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَنَّ وَٱلسَّلْوَىٰ ۖ
And We shaded you with clouds and sent down to you manna and quails – Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 57
Then upon receiving it because of his prayer, literally food came for them from Heaven every day, they tired of it and wanted onions and garlic. Food from Heaven was in their muqaddar but not in their naseeb.”
وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَـٰمُوسَىٰ لَن نَّصْبِرَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامٍۢ وَٰحِدٍۢ فَٱدْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُخْرِجْ لَنَا مِمَّا تُنۢبِتُ ٱلْأَرْضُ
مِنۢ بَقْلِهَا وَقِثَّآئِهَا وَفُومِهَا وَعَدَسِهَا وَبَصَلِهَا ۖ
And when you said, “O Musa! Never will we endure on food of one (kind), so pray for us to your Lord to bring forth for us out of what grows the earth, of its herbs, and its cucumbers, and its garlic, and its lentils, and its onions.” - Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 61
“So when you delay or deny something that is good out of bukhl, miserliness, be wary. For it will be with money and your emotional dealings with people. At least be aware of it and hope that you acknowledge it. There will be one of two reasons for the delay of that act which is undeniably good. Either the impediment is coming from your own nafs or from the whisperings of Iblis. If it’s your nafs, you still have a chance. If it’s Iblis, you will never even think you did something wrong.”
وَإِذْ زَيَّنَ لَهُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ أَعْمَـٰلَهُمْ
And (remember) when Satan made their ˹evil˺ deeds appealing to them – Surah Al-Anfal, Verse 48
Everyone in life seeks peace of heart. I used to say peace of mind but no more since the Quran says everything of value to the soul lies in the heart. The Book also gives the certain way of acquiring it.
أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ
Verily in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest. – Surah Ar-Rad, Verse 28
Uzair once said in a lecture that the Sufis have come up with 70 some ways of defining “remembrance,” which is being in a state of consciousness of Him. Again not in ritual where He can be entirely backgrounded. Then Uzair went on to describe the ways in which the “rest” is received. I wrote down three.
“If you remember Allah, He will change your destiny to favour you.”
“If you will change your nature for His Sake, He will change the nature of others for you.”
“When you will help another in their time of need, forgetting your own self for an instant, mindfully placing your own needs aside, He will fulfill your needs that you aren’t even aware of.”
For me the stages of life are over. What was left I thought I would live hoping that if God doesn’t befriend me, I will befriend Him. And if not Him, there was still the possibility of being considered a loved one of His Beloved (peace be upon him):
عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : مَتَى أَلْقَى أَحْبَابِي؟
فَقَالَ أَصْحَابُهُ: بِأَبِينَا أَنْتَ وَأُمِّنَا أَوَلَسْنَا أَحْبَابَكَ؟
فَقَالَ: أَنْتُمْ أَصْحَابِي، أَحْبَابِي قَوْمٌ لَمْ يَرُونِي وَآمَنُوا بِي وَأَنَا إِلَيْهِمْ بِالأَشْوَاقِ لأَكْثَرَ
Tradition states from Hazrat Uns Bin Maalik (ratu) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “When will I meet my loved ones?"
So the Companions said, “By our fathers and mothers, for are we not your loved ones?”
The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied, “You are my Companions. My loved ones are those who did not see me and brought faith upon me and I yearn to meet them more (than they yearn to meet me.)”
Magnificent!
Then ironically and quite recently, I found that the most difficult of human ordeals came in the last stage of life, not because what was not achieved but what was. The boxes had all been checked but what surfaced were only the hopes that remained dashed, the ceaseless toll from the sacrifices that were made but never rendered ease because they were unacknowledged by the ones they were made for. There was an escapable knowing that what one might have once dreamt of and sought would now never come true.
The truth of the moment was painfully heavy. If it induced bitterness, then in its continual overflow, everything became spoilt. In spite of this intensity of weariness, people wanted their life, of dread, to be extended for decades even when there was nothing to look forward to in it here and nothing to look forward to it there. Maybe that’s a sixth box they made up that they wanted to tick; “I lived to be 80.”
It seems impossibly hard for many to find the root of their pain. Most don’t wish to know. The tragedy of life is when the inertia makes a person’s heart dead. I know the feeling of emotional numbness well. I have experienced it in long bouts of 14 years a piece. That’s more than half my life! One starting from when I entered the boarding school. The second started when my mother died. Each time what brought me out of that state of paralysis was love. Once it was earthly, the second when I felt God’s Presence in every step I took in Damascus.
The deepest learning of all though came for me this month of this year. I know in my heart it was only by way of Nabi Kareem’s (peace be upon him) mercy upon my soul. And perhaps because of this:
“When you will help another in their time of need, forgetting your own self for an instant, mindfully placing your own needs aside, He will fulfill your needs that you aren’t even aware of.”
It was in seeing my own life already passed through a different lens than the one I had been wearing. In spite of all the "self-awareness," I realized totally by accident, that I had painted over my life with my own impressions. I had coloured brown over what were yellows, red and greens and black over whites and blues.
My “understanding” of what had been my relationships was entirely different from reality. The startling realization came when I found a pile of correspondence in a drawer in my house from literally my whole life entirely by accident. The first thing I opened was a card from my mother.
I had been 21, in my senior year at Oberlin. She had sent the card to me from London. She was a writer of letters. I think it ran in her family. I heard she wrote notes to her mother and vice versa. All the while they lived in the same house!
It was the cover of the card that blew me away. A mama teddy bear and a baby teddy bear sitting next to each other amidst flowers. I kept looking at the cover, then inside at the date. 29th September, 1992. All my life I have mocked my friends and then their kids because I felt they had been baby-ied in the stages of their life that doesn't warrant it. “Mummy Daddys” we called them in Pakistan. And here I had been, receiving a card at 21 one might get at 6.
I had only gotten through a single letter and card, just one from my sister and one from my mother, when I realized that I had wrapped myself with veils of what I thought was their perception of me, what was my perception of them and never gone beyond it. Because they had died, there had never been any correction or clarification. My life up to that point of their departure had been buried with them, misconceptions and all.
But I also found letters from those who were still alive now. Even they were unrecognizable in those words, in what they said about me, the recipient and what they disclosed about themselves as the writers. They were so different now. The toll of life had left them altered, battered. I knew that if they saw what they had penned then, 30 years ago, they would be startled. It was a meeting with oneself, the innocent, kinder, happier self.
Coming face to face with one’s own being from decades earlier is a trip. In my last session with my shrink which was when I was 39, she had asked me to close my eyes and imagine being in a beautiful spot. I chose a beach. Then she asked me to imagine a little child there and asked me who I thought it was.
“Me,” I replied.
She seemed taken aback. “Why do you say that?”
“Who else could it be?” I said.
I don’t remember the purpose of the exercise at the time anymore.
Coming across the stash of letters, cards and photos from my life becomes my meeting with that child in real life. And it will be a relief. I am so much more than I had relegated myself to. Others were so much more than what I had locked them into being only because it was more recent. I had constricted my identity as well as theirs to a few words and experiences, then regurgitated them ad nauseam.
I told Qari Sahib everything that happened and on cue, he quoted the Quran so aptly I could not help but fall in love with the verse.
لَّقَدْ كُنتَ فِى غَفْلَةٍۢ مِّنْ هَـٰذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنكَ غِطَآءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ ٱلْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌۭ
Certainly you were in heedlessness of this. So We have removed from you your veil, so your sight today is sharp.
Surah Qaf, Verse 22
In one of the prayers Allah Himself teaches the Prophet (peace be upon him), in short telling him what to ask for before Him, it is to pray for every single breathing moment to be rooted in truth. Nothing hidden, nothing veiled.
وَقُل رَّبِّ أَدْخِلْنِى مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍۢ وَأَخْرِجْنِى مُخْرَجَ صِدْقٍۢ وَٱجْعَل لِّى مِن لَّدُنكَ سُلْطَـٰنًۭا نَّصِيرًۭا
And say (in your prayer O Beloved), “O my Sustainer!
Cause me to enter (in whatever I do) in a manner, true and sincere, and cause me to leave it in a manner true and sincere.
And grant me of from Your Presence, a sustaining support.
Surah Al-Isra’, Verse 80
Tafseer e Jilani: “O my Lord, enter me into the place of being settled, which is the place of Tauheed where everything else vanishes. And place me forever in it without doubt and change within me. And take me out of the demands of egoism and selfish desires towards dissolution in You, then enjoin me to the Honor of Your Eternity, with a meeting to a place without jolts and slippage, all the while when I am embattling my ego and my nafs Ammara is trying to control me, with that which silences them once and for all, and never turns me towards them but towards an appearance before You, that helps me over my enemies and rescues me when they attack me.”
وَقُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقً
And declare, O Prophet (peace be upon you), “The truth has come and falsehood has vanished, for falsehood is bound to wither away - Surah Al-Isra’, Verse 81
“When you are solid in your settlement in Allah’s Unveiling before you, a clear Sun of Allah’s Essence has appeared. Then there is nothing else for all has disappeared; the shadows and darkness that destroy one’s being. In the absence of that which creates a veil around God for you, all those things will vanish.”
“Everything returns to its source,” is an old Arabic saying. I guess it happens one way or another. The body crumbles into dust. The soul goes back to its Creator. Where I stand now, for the first time in my life, I begin to see with clarity who I was and who I am. Nothing blunting my memory forever because it was once traumatic. Nothing compartmentalized and locked with keys thrown away.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) remembered every single thing that happened in his life. He felt every moment for what it was, no skipping, no skimming. When he was suffered a loss, he allowed himself to feel sad and shed tears. When he felt happy, he smiled. Every experience was a gift from His Lord, he was grateful through all of it. Entering and leaving every single moment was from a place of truth to a place of truth.
The mind remembers life’s pain vividly and forgets happiness. That in and of itself explains a lot. For the heart is the seat of intellect and feeling, understanding and emotion. The heart doesn’t hold onto pain unless it is dark. It is dark because of the absence of light. The upside for me already is that now when I am around someone whose behaviour is baffling and unrecognizable to me, I remind myself actually understanding the words instead of uttering them in rote, “But once they were not like this.” Now I have letters to prove it!
A card, a letter, a term of endearment! I couldn’t have guessed, if my life depended on it, things so simple would bring me out of my cave. A cave in which I had carefully placed memories, stacking them in order, when all the while they were all wrong.
My birthday is in a week. I will turn 50. Turns out it didn’t matter which stage I lived and which I missed. A new stage of life will begin that is not of “self-delusion.” I will walk on that beach. I will take the little hand of the child in mine. As we feel the sand and water warm under our feet, I will tell her what I remember and she will tell me what I forgot.
In his book Al-Fath Ar-Rabbani (The Sublime Revelation), Ghaus Pak (ra) seals it perfectly.
“When you follow the Prophets and the Saints, the Friends of God, footstep by footstep in their speech and in their actions, in privacy and in public, in your knowledge and in your deed, in your appearance and in your behaviour, when you think of them as your beloveds, then Allah will grant you a nur, a light.
From that light you will be able to see your flaws within and without, in your overt and your inner being, and your weaknesses will be made apparent to you. After that the qurb, the Closeness, will begin…First comes the Command from God to be obedient. Then follows ability, taufeeq.”
The Upside of Humiliation
Knowledge will not come to you from reading books on spirituality.
It will come to you only when the dhiyaan, the focus of a Friend of Allah, comes upon you.
Ghaus Pak (ra)
A few months ago love walked in to my life. It tends to do that every few years. It’s always a cameo appearance. It’s also never love. It’s an illusion of it. The claim, as it turns out, no one except the tongues of the Extraordinary can bear. I just think it is because of something Ibn e Sina (ra), the man considered the Father of Medicine, said which gets me excited. I already knew this part:
The condition for the heart to accept the Nur of Allah from without, to recognize it within, is softness of the heart (Riqqat ul Qalb). So what was going to bring about the softness?
According to the scientist it was the following:
“The softness of the heart comes from two things. The first is purification of thought. The second, a pure love, the condition for which is that it is mental and spiritual, not physical and lustful, so that the reason for loving the beloved is their akhlaq (character and manners) that forms their behavior.”
Sadly, this was not going to be the first time I would focus on the first part of the second condition, whilst thinking, erroneously, that my heart was about to be rendered soft; “Mental and spiritual!” I had surrendered to that state for my physical being. Or so I think. Every time I have been put to the test, I have failed in the past but we, on spiritual paths, are hopeful always of bettering ourselves.
I always totally missed the last half of his instruction, therefore tweaking it and being humiliated beyond belief; “…so that the reason for loving the beloved is their akhlaq that forms their behaviour.” To be fair to myself, the akhlaq was always different in the early days. That was because when one’s heart is soaking itself in love, even it is a superficial attachment, for as long as it lasts, only a sensitive consideration appears.
In all honesty, I never took those overtures that then emerged from total strangers seriously. I knew it had nothing to do with me per se simply because I was doing absolutely nothing to deserve them. I was friendly and warm, cordial, the same as I was to many others. I noticed that their attention was singular upon me but I didn’t place much importance on it. I didn’t find it striking. I was not taken by it. It literally had nothing to do with me. I just happened to be the one inciting it.
Six months later I went on a trip that was life changing for me. But that’s another story. When I returned the dynamic had shifted. I had no idea why and before I could even wonder about that, it would be weeks. In those weeks when I expected things to be the same, because over time, I too had built an attachment, I was humiliated almost every single day in one way or another.
My calls were not returned, much less taken, by someone who had called me several times a day and I had always answered. My asking for a meeting over lunch or breakfast was rebuffed when they were once sought and welcomed. The excuse I was given was work. It took me a month to figure out that I was still on a page that the other had already turned. Still, why such people are unable to continue the interaction on a somewhat normal trajectory, I have never been able to figure out. It’s always sudden death.
The humiliation caused me to spend nights in distress, trying to think of why what was happening was happening. I felt hurt. I wanted to be angry but it was not a feeling that was emerging. In those days, my eyes were brought upon a verse that then changed my life forever.
وَٱصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَٱهْجُرْهُمْ هَجْرًۭا جَمِيلًۭا
And be patient over what they say, and avoid them with an avoidance gracious.
Surah Al Muzzammil, Verse 10
Specifically the words hajran jameela, an avoidance beautiful! What, I wondered, could that possibly be? Qari Sahib was leaving for Hajj in two days. I requested a last class. Who knew it would be my saving grace those six weeks he would be gone without access. My Ghaus (ra) revealed the meaning unforgettably!
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And after that you have taken Him as The Vakil, The Disposer of your affairs and you have made Him , Haseeb, Sufficient for you and your Kafeel, Guardian…
Isbir ma yaquloona: be patient upon what they say i.e. the Al Mushrikoona, those who associate others with Allah, Al Musrifoona, the transgressors of boundaries, from their superstitions/misconceptions and speculations/assumptions that are unfit for your matter.
When splits upon you, (becoming extremely difficult), patience and tolerance (for what they say and do)…
Wahjurjum: leave them and turn your attention away from them…
Hajran jameela: with beautiful avoidance, smiling, cheerfully,
1.without inclining towards their false delirium (confusion and reduced awareness)
2.and without consideration for them or looking after them
3.and without speaking to them
4.and with tawakkul, reliance upon Allah and entrust the matter of avenging them to Him.
For indeed, He is Enough for you regarding their supply of misdeeds and ridicule.
In those weeks that my teacher was gone our weekly classes continued. My cousins, who hosted the class, asked me to give a few lectures. I told them if they could get some kids together, I would be happy to do it. I had given up sharing knowledge acquired in public. But exceptions have to be made. Young people still have a chance at change. People my age are, almost always, only listeners. Avid but only listeners.
I chose pain and suffering as my topic. The causes of it as explained in the Quran. There were two verses in particular I was focused upon. They created a map where I was learning to place myself every time I felt bad. But I opened the lecture with something entirely new for me. The syntax of prayer!
I had used the same verses to make a different point once before. The rule, also learned from the Quran, about the necessary abstinence from blame and accusation in a relationship. So affection could remain and not be replaced by fear or need, which was the inevitable consequence. I myself adhered to that rule religiously. I never want love to exit a relationship because of me, no matter what the circumstances.
After a long time, I had recently broken that rule. From the breach though, I discovered something new. I used to think if I exercised blame and accusation, it caused fear and need for the other person. Turns out it’s the opposite. The one blaming, complaining is the one who appears fearful or needy. It’s a backfiring of the worst order!
But this time my focus on the verses was different. I chose three:
When Hazrat Adam (as) and Amma Hawwa (ratu) were made to leave Heaven for a transgression they were enticed to commit:
قَالَا رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا
وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
The two replied, "O our Sustainer! We have sinned against ourselves and unless You grant us forgiveness and bestow Your mercy upon us, we shall most certainly be lost!"
Surah Al-Aa’raaf, Verse 23
When Hazrat Younis (as) was trapped in the belly of the whale after he left his nation.
وَذَا النُّونِ إِذ ذَّهَبَ مُغَاضِبًا فَظَنَّ أَن لَّن نَّقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَىٰ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ
أَن لَّا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
And the Man of the Fish, when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree (anything) upon him. And he called out within the darkness, ‘There is no deity except You; Exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers”.
Surah Al-Anbiya, Verse 87
Fa danna: So he thought, as soon as he left his nation…
Al-lan naqdira: that We, Allah Subhanahu, will not put stress and distress…
Alaihi: upon him and it is not possible for Us to slow him down and make him suffer nor make him hide in another place so he escaped and arrived at the ocean and boarded a ship and suddenly the wind stopped and the sailors said, “In this ship is a servant who has come without permission from his master.”
They balloted and in the ballot came out his name (of Prophet Yunus (as)) and they tossed him in the ocean and just then a whale swallowed him.
Fa nada: Then he invoked his Lord and prayed silently and humbly, scared, covered…
Fi dulumaat: in darkness which concealed him in layers because he was in the belly of the whale and the night was dark.
An: Indeed, He…
La ilaha: There is no God worthy of worship but Allah and deserving of worship which is the Right of His Essence and His Attribute…
Illa anta: except You, O Who in front of Whom necks bend and bow before the Veils of Your Majesty, the necks of the ones who are of intellect and reason…
Subhanaka: Glory is to You, O my Lord, I think of You as free of all flaws which are not mentionable with Your Essence and (all flaws) which are not worthy of mention with Your Grace.
Inni: Indeed, I am, due to my departure from my people without Your Permission and Revelation, while you had sent me to them and raised me among them in appearance as a Prophet, as a preacher and as a guide…
Kuntu min ad-daalimeen: I am of the transgressors of boundaries, the ones who departed from Your Orders and Your Commands so that’s why You made the matter one of distress for me and You imprisoned me and there is no one who can rescue me from this suffering except Your Forgiveness and Your Mercy.
And after he repented before Us and he focused towards Us with sincerity, with humility and he became pure towards Us, upset, distressed…
Then Hazrat Ayub (as) when he was sick for 18 years, his body covered in painful boils.
وَأَيُّوبَ إِذْ نَادَىٰ رَبَّهُ أَنِّي مَسَّنِيَ الضُّرُّ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ
And the Prophet Job (as), when he called to his Lord, "Indeed, adversity has touched me, and you are the Most Merciful of the merciful”.
Surah Al-Anbiya, Verse 83
Me: “If you look at all the prayers of the Prophets in the Quran, in all their states, but especially in suffering, they first praise Allah Subhanahu. Always! Then they never bring into their words anyone else who might be the cause of that suffering. ‘He did this, look what she did, they did, the world did.’ Never. The focus remains singular upon their Lord God. Hence the prayer has an intimacy between just two, The Worshipper and The Worshipped.
The second thing the Prophets always do is bring the cause of the pain upon their own selves. As in ‘I did this to myself because I crossed a boundary You had set.’ The word in Arabic is almost always zulm. It does not mean, like in the Urdu, cruelty. It means injustice. Hence they say, ‘I was unfair to my own nafs, to my own self.’”
And this is where a new colour in the rainbow emerged. It was not just about the prayer requiring praise. I was about to be made to learn that the praise necessary was the one invoking Allah’s Asma al Husna, His Beautiful Names. 99 of which are given but the Extraordinary have expressed hundreds more. In the course of writing this piece, I created one or two myself.
The reason I learnt the significance of The Names was another verse. Without doubt it was a reward for doing the lecture. For as Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him and his family) says the best amongst us is the one who benefits others.
I had wanted to highlight for the young adults the importance of reading. The means by which I was going to make my point was that the first word ever revealed by Allah Subhanahu to His Beloved (peace be upon him) in the Cave of Hira was “Iqra” – Read!
Since no one does that these days, I wanted to remind the kids that it was clearly deemed a necessity for any nafs that sought qurb, closeness or even any kind of movement towards The Divine. In wanting to accentuate that point, I ended up re-reading the full verse which I had happened to translate the exegesis of out of curiosity for what the first revelation contained. I have to confess, then I was constantly in a mode where I glossed over the Names and Attributes entirely in every verse I translated. My focus was always on some other part of the verse.
What happened in that read is best encapsulated by Proust: The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
ٱقْرَأْ بِٱسْمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ
Read, ˹O Prophet,˺ in the Name of your Lord Who created—
Surah Al Alaq, Verse 1-5
Tafseer e Jilani
Iqra: Read, O Messenger who completes Messenger-hood (peace be upon you) and remember after have been sent to you Allah’s Favours, and you have been enwrapped in His Honour…
Bi ismi Rabbika: i.e. be continuous in your remembrance of your Lord’s Names who raises you…
Alladi khalaqa: The One who created everything and made it appear from the hidden-ness of being nothing, according to His Names and Attributes and raised everything in different variations of His Lutf, Affection and Karam, Generosity and bestowed upon everything majestic bounties.
And after Allah gave this Order to His Habeeb (peace be upon him) to read and to remember Allah’s Names and to recite them, Allah then gave another Command; to deeply consider and reflect upon their meanings and to unveil their hidden secrets so He said;
Iqra: Read the reading of consideration that takes you in to depth and unveil that which (the Names and Attributes) consist, which are without match and the amazing things which have been placed in them.
More so than the in advertent intention of trying to be of benefit, my being brought to The Beautiful Names was a gift of Bibi Zainab (as) from my last trip to Damascus. Re=reading the tafseer made me recall a prayer at the Rauza Mubarik of Bibi Ruqaya (as) where I had heard a child utter the Names of Allah in between the posture changes in the namaz.
Then I had only thought, this child will become attached to Allah Subhanahu through His Names at 10 when I only begin to learn that the Names matter at 51. Then I had not even known how much those Names mattered! I had only remembered a single line from the tafseer by Ghaus Pak (ra) from another verse:
“And the one who desires that Allah bestow upon him honour and control and absolute kingdoms and abundance that remains forever, then he should, in his initial stages toward Allah, praise Him by way of His Perfect Names and Exalted Attributes till his remembrance reaches the stages of their reflection in him.”
I had chosen the verse which contained this text the first time because I liked to be reminded that all honour only belongs to Allah. And in another verse, to Allah and His Rasool (peace be upon him and his family). It was necessary to remember that for those who crave honour after which there is never any humiliation. Ever!
مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ ٱلْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ ٱلْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ ٱلْكَلِمُ ٱلطَّيِّبُ وَٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّـٰلِحُ يَرْفَعُهُۥ
Whoever desires for himself honor, (should know) then for Allah (alone) is all the Honor.
To Him ascends the good words, and righteous deeds raises it.
Surah Fatir, Verse 10
Tafseer e Jilani:
Man kana yureed ul izzata: The one who wants honour, endless, after which never comes humiliation ever, then he should turn towards Allah and makes his focus His One-ness.
Fa lillahe izzatu: For only Allah is the True Owner of Honour, which includes control, eternal majesty and all kingdoms…
Jami-an: overt (zahiri) and inner (batini). And the one who desires that Allah bestow upon him honour and control and absolute kingdoms and abundance that remains forever, then he should, in his initial stages toward Allah, praise Him by way of His Perfect Names and Exalted Attributes till his remembrance reaches the stages of their reflection in him.
This (the reflection) is the last effort and then he becomes a reflector of Allah’s Being, wanting to unveil the Veils of His Omnipotence, till he becomes present before Him, able to unveil Him and witness the Signs of His Names and Attributes on the surface of the Universe without the distortion created by others.
And overall (in summary), the one who seeks honour should be occupied in the Remembrance by Allah in the early stages because...
Ilayhi yasadu alkalm at tayyabu: towards Him ascend good words which are the Prefect Names of Allah and His Exalted Attributes, increasing in frequency from the tongues of The Sincere and The Ones who Reflect in Allah’s Blessings and His Bounty…
Wal al amal as saleh: and (they should be occupied) in good deeds joined with ikhlas, sincerity and tabbatul, devotion to Him (also ascending towards Him)…
Yarfa’uhu: (which will be why) He then raises that deed founded upon sincerity and those good words allowing them to reach towards the stages of Closeness with Allah. So for the one whose sincerity in his deed is perfect, then the ranks of his words, which are raised towards Allah Subhanahu, are the highest and the most supreme to Him.
Because of the verse I began noticing for the first time how in my namaz, which I had been reading now regularly for years, the Blessed Names of Allah were sprinkled throughout it. From the beginning till the end. If they weren’t uttered as nouns, they appeared as verbs. The knowledge made my utterances become slower and slower so that I paused on every Name.
Ar Rahman, Ar Rahim, Maalik e Youmiddeen, Al Ahad, As Samad, Al Ahad, Al aliyy, Al Hameed, Al Majeed…
I decided to emulate the child in Damascus. As I changed position from standing to touching my knees in ruku’ I started saying a Name. As soon as I did that I realized its profound effect. I was calling someone. I was calling out to my Lord and suddenly, because I was uttering one of His Exalted Names, He was turning His Attention towards me.
The feeling was unreal!
For the first time in my life, a distracted prayer, which I thought was my destiny, since that is what it had been forever, looked like it might shift. Funnily enough someone had gifted me the Names of Allah on a wall hanging years ago. I had hung it on my dressing room where I only glanced at it and every once in a while kissed Al Wadoodu – The Loving One. That was the Name my mother had been told to give me to read a tasbeeh of in my teens based on the science of numerology. Later I realized how that utterance created the foundation for how I would love my whole life.
It’s not like it made me not require return. My love was not unconditional. What it did hold in it from the qualities of Divine Love though was that it was permanent. Not in the sense that my feeling for someone lasted forever. That part dissipated over time. It was still muwaddat though in the sense that no matter how bad the rupture, every single person who knew I loved them, relied on the fact that my doors for them were always open. To my detriment that door became “revolving” I would joke sometimes but still. It was a nice feeling for me to know that capacity came through one of the softest Names of The Divine that left my lips only in obedience to an order of a parent.
Now I took that wall hanging and placed it before me for my longer prayers and started memorizing them.
Each time my tongue uttered a Name, my heart wanted to reflect upon its meaning. I wanted to be connected to it. Sometimes I just expressed gratitude: “Ya Affuw, The Oft Forgiving, thank you for forgiving me again and again. Others I repeated lines I had learnt from Ghaus Pak (ra) in my readings: “Ya Mutawakkal, The One Entrusted, I entrust my matters, all of them, to you, Ya Muslih, O Reformer, reform me…” and so it went on and on.
It was the days leading to Muharram. A single thought kept going in and out of my head. To bring into the kids’ attention how we end up wasting so much time hung up in nostalgia, thinking about people who, given the chance, we might not want to ever have met. I came up with an exercise.
“Imagine,” I wanted to say, “if Allah Subhanahu said to you, ‘I will bring you back into a womb. You tell me, of the people you have interacted with to-date, which person you want to appear in this new life. The interaction, this relationship, with the person you choose, if you choose someone, will be exactly the same as it was in this life you had.”
I thought about the question for myself. Was there anyone at all I wanted to be in my life and have the exact same experience with. Turned out my answer was No! I wanted everything and everyone to be new. Reset! Maybe I would be poorer, maybe I would be unwell, maybe I would be unhappier but I thought I would choose newness to come from my Rabb, Allah Al Muqtadir, who always raised me with kindness.
There was one exception that kept coming to my mind. My mother!
Knowing that at five she would send me to a boarding school that would render me emotionally numb for the next 15 years. Knowing that while I was there she would sometimes not call on my birthday and forget to ensure that there was money for me to spend on the one or two days a year that the students went to eat out and shop in the town. Knowing that when I would return I would be 10 and she would be 36 and she would have little to no time for me because she was busy with her friends. Knowing that she would die when I would turn 26 and it would devastate me forever.
It was not because she was considered, in her life and after her premature death at 53, unique. People who are outstanding, distinctive, are a little crazy. They are haphazard. No, I thought to myself, that would not be my reason.
Then I wondered it would be because of two attributes that she had been gifted in her nature intrinsically; forgiveness and generosity. Qualities both uncommon and exalted. But in truth, both of those worked against me as a child. She forgave too easily those who were unkind to me. When in my mid-teens I finally drummed up the courage to ask her why, her answers left me speechless each time.
One of those people who were relentless in their meanness was a step-mother. We had to spend three long summer months with her in another city. Only the presence of cousins living there mitigated that. My father was silent about it, pretending he didn’t know. Every time the woman came to Lahore my mother warmly invited her over for tea.
“I don’t understand,” I finally asked, “Why would you ask her to come to our house when we feel miserable in hers for days on end? It’s humiliating.”
“Because,” she said just once and it was enough, “she was widowed at an early age with a small child. Perhaps that loss made her how she is. And perhaps one day because of my kindness to her, she will be kinder to you.”
Her sensitivity for the unknown in another person’s life floored me. I never broached the subject again.
When it came to generosity, she always gave of that which she needed herself. And therefore of what we needed as a single parent family. The act caused me anxiety because I had taken on responsibilities in the house that were not mine to bear and that I was too young to assume. Then I felt like she was half crazy to take from my plate, not knowing if it would be enough for me and give from it to another. Later, I learnt it was the daily act of the Ahl e Beit, the members of the Prophet of God (peace be upon him and his family) and verses of the Quran descended because of them.
But those attributes were not the reason I would choose her.
“So why then,” my nafs asked?
“Because once,” I told it after considering it carefully, “once she choose to sacrifice her heart’s last desire. Literally the last! And it for us, her children’s sake.”
I wrote a story about the event in 2005. It was early days of realization that I could write. The beginning was a series of personal history pieces. I had titled it The Third Marriage.
Begin
It was 1986. Life in Lahore had always been unusual for me. My parents were separated by then which was a low incidence situation for upper-middle class families back then. I had returned from boarding school a few years ago and lived in our house with my brother and mother and the staff. My elder sister had chosen to remain in Murree, unfazed and returned only after finishing all 11 years before starting college. My five had rendered me emotionally numb but able to be independent emotionally with the adeptness of an adult.
Samina, that was her name. Ami is what us children called her, the most common Pakistani term for mother. She was a beautiful woman, tall, slim with a life that was dramatic and difficult through all its stages. In 1986, she was seriously contemplating marriage for the third time. The history of that institution for her had also been dramatic and difficult. This time the options were even more unique – two Caucasian males were the suitors, both successful in their chosen careers, both previously married with off-spring in other countries. The consideration to marry was unique in and of itself. It was a time in Lahore when men didn’t marry twice. And if they did, they hid it. A third time was practically unheard of at all, much less for a woman.
Ray was 50 plus, a soft-spoken, rotund American originally from Georgia who had spent the last 30 years living in South Asia with the State Department. Whenever I did see him or speak to him, which wasn’t often, he was always sweet and kind. He was an avid lover of opera and sometimes when I went to pick up my mother or drop her off, I heard his music playing well into the garden. I had never heard it before except in movies and didn’t like it much then, not like I have grown to like it now.
He had older children some of whom had given him a tough time and it was expected that he would be a more reliable step-father. After all anything was to be expected from my brother and sister, both of whom were generally in some sort of trouble that only got more serious with age. The tell-tale sign was that each of them had to change their educational institution practically every year. My mother’s reaction to that upheaval was impressive. She never dwelt on anything for long. It happened, was her MO, let’s move on to what should happen next.
Once a month, my siblings and I went to Ray’s house in Lahore for dinner. I was 15 at the time, which made my brother 11 and my sister 19. We usually got there just before it was time to eat. I was studying like an insane person for my O’Level exams that were coming up and didn’t have time for much of anything. The table was always set formally even if were eating burgers. The only attraction at the time, for the three on our end I think, was the American food we would eat. Something from the commissary, the place the American staff of the Embassy in the city had access to exclusively to purchase American food products.
Ray’s three, also two girls and a boy, were all older than myself. Two were in high school and one was in college. They were always nice to us but they appeared to be busy with a lot on their social calendar and these dinners seemed to interrupt that. Hence, during the meals they would be leaving and returning, sometimes taking smoke breaks talking to friends on the phone and sometimes, to say a word to their friends hanging out in their rooms waiting for them to be done.
Ray tried to get them to sit through the meal in its entirety but he usually failed. They made jokes with each other sometimes in reference to “The Brady Bunch” but since none of us knew what that was, it was only followed by awkward silences on our parts. As soon as dinner was over, the three of us would march to our car and go home while the three of them would re-enter their expatriate lives in Lahore.
Bob was relatively a youthful man in his 40s from Rotterdam, a hotel management executive, who had been in Lahore for a few years. He was divorced, had two small children who were under the age of 10 and whom we never met. I played tennis with him occasionally but other than that just met him to say hi when he was over at our house. The conversation was always polite and brief, we exchanged niceties.
He drove some fancy car the hotel had given him and I was always trying to conspire how to wrest the keys from him, making up lame excuses of how I could not get our car past it so I could sneak it out for a drive. I remember one night when I had taken it for a spin finding Bob pacing at our gate on my return. He didn’t say a word as I stepped out of the car meekly and went inside as he drove away, clearly irritated but not saying a word to me about it.
I don’t think even my mother admonished me for that act, even though she did say something, throwing in words like “insurance” and “liability” that seemed somewhat forced and not anything she appeared too concerned about. Ami loved Bob, I think she was in love with him. I never knew exactly why but I knew she loved him because in the analysis and selection phase, she always ended up favoring him.
The dilemma that was discussed ad nauseum between my mother and her female cousins, who met every day as part of their daily routine, was who to pick. For weeks, I walked in and out of rooms and through conversations where the eternally unfinished list of pros and cons was being outlined verbally. The lists were not long and the attributes were in opposites and therefore simple, uncomplicated.
They appeared to be mostly in repeat mode, no new light was being shed in these discussions. It was such a big deal though that not enough could be said about it. All the women were anxious on some level. They knew my mother would eventually pick one of the two and leave the country and the men in the family would briefly lose their minds. But that was not a deterrent by any means. Their love for my mother knew no bounds.
Her life had been difficult from the beginning when they were in their teens and the path she had been on, some of it mapped by her parents and some herself, had been nothing like their own which was easier, always settled, always known. They were all socially conservative, deeply religious and what I remember and absorbed by being around them all my life and that seeped into my nature directly was their lack of judgement. People made decisions that sometimes didn’t make sense overtly to the rest of the world, seemingly wrong, even harmful but one couldn’t know all the reasons why and eventually had to respect that rather than lash out at them.
They were probably most worried about whether this unusual and risky move was the right one for her this time and probably just prayed a little harder for that when they said their namaz. My mother was the peacock in the group, not because she was the most beautiful, that they all were, but because she was different. She knew that, they knew it. She always had been.
She had gained exposure to life by branching out from what had been narrowly and simply declared their “life” through marriage and motherhood, through the patriarchs of the family and society at large. More publicly known were only her sharp deviations from the norms of Pakistani society that made her different, the failed marriages, the mixed parties at her residence where alcohol was served, music was played and on occasion people danced.
But they were her anchor after her mother died. In terms of having the closest thing to unconditional love from a parent, they were that source. But unconditional love from peers, as I enjoy from my friends and cousins today, has its downsides because it can advise and inform major decisions but after a point that is reached quickly, the love takes over everything else.
In the list, Bob was young, Ray was old. Bob had children under the age of 10, Ray’s three were all older than myself and therefore according to American culture as explained to my mother, were going to be on their own sooner or later. Both had similar financial strengths. Sometimes my aunts would mix the names up. Their mastery of the foreign tongue, in this case English, was not the best.
When they did speak in it, which was only out of necessity, I loved it because it always made me giggle and it always made them giggle as they dismissed its importance. I believe both men also knew that they were under scrutiny as both had asked my mother to marry them, both were awaiting an answer. I remember one evening when Ray was over, one of my aunts walked in the room with an endearing smile, greeting him with a “Hello Bob.”
Ray almost lost it for a second and grumbled back, “My name is RAY”, emphasizing the end of the sentence even then in his gentle, calming manner. I think in her panic and embarrassment, my aunt started laughing, apologizing profusely. My mother was smiling to herself as she changed the subject saying to Ray, as if it should have been comforting, that he knew her cousins’ English was not good.
So Ray or Bob remained the hotly debated subject. My brother was out of the loop entirely struggling with his impending teens. My sister was usually out of the house spending the end of her teens with friends. I was drawn in to the conversations occasionally, my opinion generally more sought than my siblings’ because of a precocious maturity and responsibility I assumed in the running of a house with an absentee male figure.
I didn’t have much to add, both men seemed decent and I barely knew them enough to favor either. My life sans my father had made me very used to not needing men at all. I didn’t understand the implications on my life per se as a result of this action because there seemed to be none. All except the embarrassment it would cause the family of course that my mother coming from an old feudal family will have entered into marriage with a non-muslim, white man. Although I’m pretty sure a forced conversion for the ritual had been agreed upon. Perhaps that was always my prime concern and I secretly believed that it would never happen for that reason.
It was wishful hoping on my part. I had spent the bulk of my life in silent resentment of not being given a normal life by my parents. But I digress. Finally a decision was made from the heart. Ironically it favored Ray. Ami had called her spiritual guide, Wasif Sahib, a scholar, a poet and a Sufi who addressed a group once a month to discuss spirituality and poetry, life and roles, rights and duties in the context of Islam.
He asked her one question: Who do you think will take better care of your children? She knew it would be Ray and told him so truthfully. His advice then was that he would make the better choice but of course it was up to her to finally decide.
A few weeks later, I recall all our stuff being packed and shipped off. One night we were in Lahore, the next landing in Dhaka, Ray’s next posting, leaving our home with a large padlock at the gate. We didn’t ask any questions, there were no answers we sought. Ami sold her house without a soul knowing about it. Except for the partners in crime cousins, of course.
End Story
“So that’s why,” I said to my nafs as it listened intently clearly remembering none of it. It left me wondering, unsure if its overwhelming feeling was sadness or awe.
She gave up what her heart desired most of all, knowing that it was the last chance for this particular happiness to come her way. It had been a life soaked in pain and crushed hopes. Extinguishing that last candle herself, seeing her do it, never uttering a word of reproach, never the sound of a complaint, that’s the reason I would want just her in my life again. Even though if I could count the time we spent together, near each other in close proximity. It wouldn’t be years. Perhaps it would be months. Likely, just weeks. Until she would die at 53 and I would remain alive for decades with only a broken heart to mark her existence.
It felt uncanny that these thoughts were coming to me a day before Muharram was to begin. But then when I thought about it, it wasn’t so surprising.
Muharram is the start of the Islamic year which operates on the lunar calendar. The 31st of December has no meaning. There are no fireworks or parties, toasts around clinking glasses to mark the occasion. The year starts on a deeply mournful note with tears, somber, serious and when one is fortunate enough to understand why, deeply reflective. There is no kind of festivity for at least the first 10 days by those who hold love and regard for the Ahl e Beit, the hosuehold of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family).
The month marks the epitome of sacrifice, in brutal circumstances, in the name of love, in the name of God by the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), Hazrat Imam Hussain (as). It is the month in which he became the reason the religion itself survived, having mutated beyond belief just 40 years after the Prophet (peace be upon him). And it was not just because of his martyrdom at Karbala but because he took, thousands of years later, the place of Hazrat Ismael’s (as) would-be sacrifice.
وَتَرَكْنَا عَلَيْهِ فِي الْآخِرِينَ
And We left (this blessing) for him among generations to come in later times.
Surah As-Saffat, Verse 108
The event was not imposed upon him. The most blessed Imam (as) chose this ending when he was a soul and there was a meeting of the Extraordinary in the Heavens with their Lord God. In that meeting lay the explanation for one of the most elusive and debated upon ahadith of the Mercy of the Universe (peace be upon him).
Begin excerpt The Softest Heart
قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حُسَيْنٌ مِنِّي وَأَنَا مِنْ حُسَيْنٍ”
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said (most notably):
“Hussain (as) is from me and I am from Hussain (as).”
The tafseer of that line I heard from Mamu who heard it from his Spiritual Master (also from Golra Shareef), was one I had never heard from anyone else. Everyone understood the second part of the sentence. Hazrat Imam Hussain (ratu) was his grandson therefore he was from him but the first part was unclear. How was the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from Hazrat Imam Hussain (ratu)? This was the explanation I had received.
Once when God was surrounded by the souls of his prophets and the family of his Beloved (peace be upon him), in the unfolding of events, when He came to the part of the Prophet Ibrahim (as) sacrificing his son, Hazrat Ismael (as), Hazrat Imam Hussain (ratu) stood up. He said that if Hazrat Ismael (as) was sacrificed as a child, his lineage would end there and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would never be born.
All the prophets have descended from the line of Hazrat Ibrahim’s other son, the Prophet Ishaaq or Isaac (as). Only Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) comes from the line of Hazrat Ismael (as). It would become the number one reason the Jews would reject him despite his oft mention in their own book, the Torah. Therefore Hazrat Imam Hussain (ratu) offered himself to be sacrificed instead of Hazrat Ismael (as) and so it was deemed. Hence the Prophet (peace be upon him) had said that he had come to exist because of Imam Hussain (ratu); “and I am from Hussain.”
End excerpt The Softest Heart
He chose the sacrifice and it was not just him as an individual. It would be a massacre, brutal, where children were slain with arrows used to hunt animals piercing their throats. There would be a blockade of food and water for days for those who shared their own supplies with the enemy before the fighting began. Every single male member of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), who were after him the appearance of Allah’s Noor, would be killed mercilessly with the exception of one; Hazrat Imam Zain ul Abideen (as) who was seriously ill.
The Imam Hussain (as) could not be slain in one to one combat by anyone. Throes of arrows and spears would then be hurled upon his person until he fell from his horse to the ground. In those final moments, his physical body entirely covered in injuries and wounds, having witnessed the martyrdom of all the male members of his entire clan, he would fall into prostration and in that sajda utter his last words addressing his Lord God:
I left all creatures for the sake of You
and I orphaned the children so that I see You.
So even if I am cut into pieces for the love of You,
the heart would lean to none other than You.
Every time I read the words my eyes filled with tears, my heart with envy and even “my deaf, mute, blind and insane nafs” with a yearning of the possibility of a sacrifice from my self for my Rabb. A sacrifice that would at least manifest itself in this world for another human being and be counted by Allah Al Muhsi, The One who takes account of all things. Imam Hussain’s (as) sacrifice was for his grandfather’s Ummah, his nation, but it was also for an entire Universe to preserve the remembrance of God. For without him the existence of truth would have perished forever.
ہر اک ذہن میں ہے کچھ نہ کچھ تصور حق
ہم اس تصور حق کو حسین کہتے ہیں
har ek zehn mein hai kuch na kuch tasawar e haq
hum uss tasawar e haq ko hussain (ratu) kehte hain
Every mind has in it some perception of truth,
that perception of truth in each is what we call Hussain (as)
On the second day of Muharram, the beginning of August, Qari Sahib returned from Hajj. It was lovely to see him. He didn’t tell me much about his travel but I saw the noor on his face.
“You don’t look tired at all Sir,” I remarked, genuinely surprised. All I had heard and seen from rich people was how they immediately fell into a state of exhaustion and then illness upon their return.
“It’s the Quran,” he replied. “It doesn’t let you feel tired.”
“Really?” I asked, wanting confirmation.
“Really!” he said smiling his broad smile.
I made a mental note to hope for that effect upon me when I performed the Hajj. Except for him as a hafiz, it was in his head. He could recite it whenever he wanted to no end. Still, I had been looking up the Names of Allah Subhanahu to vary my invocations. I realized why in the three prayers where the recitation of the Surah was changed from Ikhlas to the reader’s choice, repetition was makrooh, disliked by God. It made sense. People who keep saying the same thing every time you meet them are deathly boring. I can’t figure out for the life of me what’s happening in their head.
I asked my cousin, Sanya, who was a therapist why they did that. She was very helpful.
“One answer could be that there mind is still trying to make sense of it. The issue remains unresolved.”
Suddenly I remembered all the instances when I was a parrot in rote myself precisely because something was stuck in my head!
Still I had said in the lecture to the kids.
“Even if you don’t have something new to call out to Allah Subhanahu and you keep saying the same Name again and again and again, it will gain His Attention. Imagine if you’re sitting with someone who doesn’t pay any attention to you. If you start saying their name over and over in your sentences, even they will eventually turn around and finally say, ‘WHAT’?”
The approach made me smile as I said it and the kids laugh.
But its result was undeniable.
There were many Names whose meaning I did not even know. I knew what I would be working on next with Qari Sahib. It would just be the tafseer of the Exalted Names of Allah Subhanahu in various verses of the Quran. Each context would reveal something new, unveil a secret. Which would change my prayer and perhaps me with it!
Qari Sahib asked me what had been happening in the weeks he was gone. I told him the verse that had been my primary focus while he was away. How to avoid with gracious avoidance. He asked me who I had learnt to apply the verse upon. Who had to be avoided beautifully. After all we were also friends.
“The details behind it don’t really matter anymore Sir. The experience for me was revelatory in terms of deconstructing behaviour. Mine as well as others. People get used to living in a cave of pain. Because of something that happened to them. Or even something that continues to happen to them. A cave is a cave, it’s drenched only in darkness.
Then one day the person in it raises their hands to the heavens and asks for a ray of light. Soon after, exactly such a ray of light pierces the hard rock near the mouth of the cave and enters it. Mesmerized by the appearance, they start walking towards it. That pursuit is what makes them, perhaps unknowingly, leave the cave after ages.
Once outside they see the blues of the sky and the greens of trees and grass. They hear birds and see butterflies. They notice colours and sounds that imbue nature. They see their heart fleeing towards all of that beauty, they feel its elation. The joy is uncontrollable, it cannot be hidden. It is forced to reveal itself, it requires expression.
And then out of nowhere they remind themselves, forcibly, of the cave. Of those many days and nights that were spent there. They asks themselves, “But isn’t that out real abode?” After all, it was what shaped their identity, public and private, for years. You weren’t here Sir so I asked someone else who lives and exits such a cave himself from time to time this question.
‘I just want to know this. In those steps,’ I said to my friend, ‘when the person has turned their back on the sun and the moon, in that walk back to the cave just before re-entering it, what is the thought in their mind?’ I truly had no idea.
My friend looked away and with a most knowing expression turned back to say to me, ‘They are saying, “I am in charge of my life. I will take care of things. I am the one who knows what best for me, what I like, how I like it. I will decide my matters.”’
Then he paused and said softly, ‘They feel a pride in their pain. But mostly I guess they are ungrateful. Why else or rather how else does one walk from light towards darkness.’”
He made me think of Allah’s Name, An Noor!
“From the root, noon, wao, ra, which has the following classical Arabic connotations: to give light, to illuminate, to fill with light to clarify, to reveal, to make visible to blossom, to be in bloom (revealed) to be flaming, blazing and apparent to the senses to enlighten, give counsel and give advice.”
Qari Sahib listened to me quietly. He gave me a reference where Allah Subhanahu was stating that the trajectory of life was the opposite. And the darkness I was wondering about was clearly defined!
ٱللَّهُ وَلِىُّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِ
Allah is the Protecting Guardian of those who believed.
He brings them out from the darkness towards the light.
Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 257
Tafseer e Jilani:
Allahu: The One who is The Gatherer of All Attributes and All Names…
Walliulladina Aamino: He is The Friend of those who bring faith upon Him. He raises them, according to His Qualities and all that He encompasses (which is everything)…
Yukhrijjuhum min adulumaat: and brings them out of the darkness, which is the darkness of their nature and darkness of their doubts (of possibilities) and all other darkness…
Ilan Noor: towards the Light, crystal clear, His Pure One-ness, free of dust and all other associations.
For the first time every time I translated a verse, I looked for one of my Rabb’s Names. The Name in this one with Allah was Wali-un.
“From the root wao, laam, ye, which has the following classical Arabic connotation: to be near, close, nearby to be a friend, helper, supporter, maintainer to defend, guard to be in charge, to turn one towards something to be the master, owner, lord.
I had found a website with the Exalted Names (myislam.org/99-names-of-allah/). I chose it because in it were also the verses where they appeared in the Quran. I started making a list to memorize the verses. To study their tafseer, to utter them, those praises, in my namaz. I wanted to learn as many of them as I could to gain His Attention.
For the line in the qayam of namaz itself made the point best:
سَمِعَ اللَّهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ
Allah hears whoever praises Him.
Hazrat Sahel Tustari (ra) says that two things are a direct consequence of relying on one’s own self. The worst of behaviour damaging to one’s own self; anger, harshness.
“Truly anger (ghadab) and harshness (hidda) come from the servant’s dependence on his own strength (quwwa). However, when he gives up relying on his own strength, weakness will take up residence in his soul, and this will generate mercy (rahma) and benevolence (lutf) from him, which is to take on the characteristics of the Lord, His Majesty be magnified.”
Allah Al Qawwi, Allah Ar Raheem, Allah Al Lateef!
I looked up Al Lateef. Kindness was the key for any goodness to count said Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him and his family). Without it the entire act was void!
“From the root laam, ta, fa, which has the following classical Arabic connotation: to be thin, delicate, refined, elegant, graceful, gentle, gracious, courteous, kindly, subtle, to the know the obscurities of all affairs, to treat with regard for circumstances, to be the most soothing and refined in manner, to treat with kindness, goodness, gentleness, benevolence, and affection.”
ٱللَّهُ لَطِيفٌۢ بِعِبَادِهِۦ
Allah is Gentle for His Worshippers.
Surah Ash Shura, Verse 19
Said Al Ghazali about the Name and Attribute, “The one who understands this Name knows the subtleties of those things which are beneficial, as well as their hidden aspects, along with what is subtle about them and what is benevolent. In conveying them to those who are deserving, he is committed to the path of gentleness rather than harshness.”
There was that word again, harshness.
In this last experience I had learnt that the harshness that people dealt out was in fact indifference. First turned upon themselves and therefore very easily on others. And anger, Ghaus Pak (ra) had said in multiple tafaseer of the word, was a pure disruption of the mind. It the forced the exit of the aql, the ability to consider, in the first instant of its appearance. Its other guaranteed consequence was a false sense of dignity which the nafs, the base self, and Iblis used as their major weapon to destroy peace of mind most easily by plying on justification.
Justification was always the trap. A trap that even Prophets admited:
وَمَآ أُبَرِّئُ نَفْسِىٓ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلنَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌۢ بِٱلسُّوٓءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّىٓ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ
"And yet I am not trying to absolve my nafs, self.
Indeed, the nafs is a certain inciter of evil,
unless [that] my Lord bestows Mercy. Indeed, my Lord (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
Surah Yusuf, Verse 53
Tafseer e Jilani
The he, Hazrat Yusuf (as) said:
Wa ma ubarri’o: And I do not absolve and do not justify…
Nafsi: my nafs, my self, from furataat, excessiveness and ghafalaat, forgetfulness and shameful thoughts and repulsive deeds according to the demands of the organs of lust and animalistic desires and how can I absolve myself and justify it?
Inna an nafsa: Indeed the nafs, the base self, that has been embodied in the nature of human beings…
La-Ammaarat-un: the forceful commanding of which is by its nature towards …
Bis su’: wrong-doing and fasaad, corruption and its focus upon that whenever it’s free and is its nature…
Illa ma rahima Rabbi: except for the one upon whom is bestowed the Mercy of my Lord i.e. Allah protects that nafs by His Endless Mercy and Affection from its transgressions and the whisperings of Satan towards it.
Inna Rabbi: Indeed my Lord, who has raised me with safeguarding from sin and with virtuousness…
Ghafooran: is All Forgiving of that which has happened from me from the occurrences of my nafs…
Raheemun: is All Merciful. He bestows Mercy towards me with His Fazal, Bounty and He preserves me with His Lutf, Kindness, from those things that make me distant from His Kunuf, Protection and His Jawaar, Safety.
Ghaus Pak (ra) says in Al Fath Ar Rabbni: “You are a Munafiq because you are a hypocrite to your own nafs. Because you lie to it.” All those years of lying. The nafs now in control, the tabyat overwhelming the fitrat, was just lying back. It was the fruits of seeds sown, unwittingly, in a state of unawareness.
For anger the words Kadimeen al ghaid from a verse came to mind: for those who restrain it!
ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِى ٱلسَّرَّآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَٱلْكَظِمِينَ ٱلْغَيْظَ وَٱلْعَافِينَ عَنِ ٱلنَّاسِ ۗ
وَٱللَّهُ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
Those who spend in ease and in hardship and those who restrain the anger and those who pardon the people - and Allah loves the Muhsineen, the good-doers.
Surah Aal e Imran, Verse 134
Tafseer e Jilani
Alladina yunfiqoona: They (the Muttaqeen) are the ones who spend from the good that they earn from a livelihood that is tangible and intangible on the ones who are deserving from the Servants of Allah. It is equal for them…
Fi sarra’e: in happiness, meaning when they are free of their busyness which is being a hurdle from true focus upon Allah…
Wa darra’ae: in difficulty in the happening of incidents which happen to them because of their necessities of being human beings.
Wal kadimeen al ghaida: And (the Muttaqeena) are Al Maasikeena, those who hold, Al Kaafeena, those who stop, their anger at the time of sudden arousal of the expression of it and the storm of (fake) dignity of being a human being that rises from the requirements of the animalistic (show of) strength.
Wal aafina an in-naas: And they forgive people, they are the ones who pardon and give up punishing of those who do wrong to them and those who are unjust to them because they are steadfast upon Tauheed, Allah’s One-ness, which decimates the additional feelings (of anger) and conflicts overall.
Wallahu: And Allah Al Muttali’u, The One who is Watchful, of the secrets of His Servants...
Yuhibbul Muhsineen: loves them with all their types of good deeds, especially the controlling of anger and forgiving despite power (not to do so).
And the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Indeed, these people (the Muhsineen) are few in my nation except the ones safeguarded by Allah and certainly they were many in the nations before mine.”
Again the words appeared to define anger; show of strength, again a false sense of dignity.
I went back to the verse on “gracious avoidance.” Ghaus Pak’s (ra) tafseer on Allah Subhanahu’s instruction of that avoidance was imbued with lutf, kindness and gentleness. Why?
Because the first words he used in the interaction with them was “be smiling and cheerful.”
I realized from those words that he taught me something I could never have known otherwise. If the heart likes someone and affection has been placed in it, forcing it to dislike them, be harsh or angry with them, only causes intense distress. Hence one was allowed and even told to meet them smiling and cheerful because that’s exactly how the heart in fact wanted to greet them.
When we were translating it, I even asked Qari Sahib why the words repeated; smiling, cheerful. Didn’t they mean the same thing?
He said, “It’s because sometimes the mouth smiles but the forehead hides a frown. There is a disconnect, an insincerity. Ghaus Pak (ra) is saying, be both and be both truthfully.”
I have to say I felt over the moon. I was one of those who distressed my heart to no end in forcing it to feel “a false sense of dignity” under a guise of preserving self-esteem. I then became one of those that inflicted harshness upon my own nafs.
In those early days of Muharram I tried to listen to only lectures about the event of Karbala. Not listening to music was something I had done as a child because my family did it. For years that was the only thing I didn’t do. This year I tried to keep my focus on the blessed persons of the family of the Messenger who perfects the Messengers (peace be upon him) and them alone.
One of them happened to be on Imam Hussain’s (as) son, the sole male survivor of Karbala: Imam Zain ul Abideen (as).
Part II Continued on: www.flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/52273833091/in/datepos...
Continued from: www.flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/51871571321/in/datepos...
Uzair: “Then Allah does that even with the faiths that went headlong against His Tauheed, One-ness. The Christians who made the Prophet Isa (as), Jesus, His son. Many times, in about 30 some verses at least, He admonishes them. But then He also says:
مَّ قَفَّيْنَا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَرِهِم بِرُسُلِنَا وَقَفَّيْنَا بِعِيسَى ٱبْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَءَاتَيْنَهُ ٱلْإِنجِيلَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِى قُلُوبِ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوهُ رَأْفَةًۭ وَرَحْمَةًۭ وَرَهْبَانِيَّةً ٱبْتَدَعُوهَا مَا كَتَبْنَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ إِلَّا ٱبْتِغَآءَ رِضْوَنِ ٱللَّهِ فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا ۖ
فَـَٔاتَيْنَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ ۖ
وَكَثِيرٌۭ مِّنْهُمْ فَسِقُونَ
And We followed with Isa, son of Maryam, and We gave him the Injeel.
And We placed in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy.
But monasticism they innovated - not that We prescribed it for them – they invented it themselves only seeking the Pleasure of Allah,
but then they did not observe with right observance.
So We gave those who believed among them their reward, but most of them are defiantly disobediently.
Surah Al Hadeed, Verse 27
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And after We caused them to be followed by…
Bi Isa ibn e Maryam: with the Prophet Isa (as) son of Maryam and we gave him the Injeel (Bible) and succored him with the Holy Spirit (Hazrat Gibrael (as))…
Wa: with perfected cleansing of him and nobility in his family and his behaviour…
Ja’alna fi quloobi illadina attaba’uhu: and We placed in their hearts, of those who followed him and believed in him and practiced his religion…
Rafa’tan: softness, affection and kindness, to the extent that they forgave murderers and did not fight with the ones who cursed them and those who were physically violent…
Wa rahmatan: and mercy, so they were merciful because of it with all of Allah’s Servants.
Wa: And because the intensity of their love and attachment with Allah by their connection with Him, they invented…
Rahbaaniatan: monasticism and transgressed the limits of worship to the extent that they wouldn’t eat and they wouldn’t drink for days at a time and never married and did not meet people and instead made their abodes in the heights of mountains and in caves and indeed…
Ibtadauha: they introduced it making it up from their own selves without any approval from Our Side because…
Ma katabnaha: We didn’t prescribe monasticism for them and We did not make it obligatory and We did not compel them towards it…
Alaihim: upon them in their religion and in their books but they didn’t choose it…
Illa abtigha’a ridwan illahe: except that they were seeking Allah’s Pleasure and were desiring of acquiring it and despite this…
Fama rauha haqqa ri’ayatiha: the monasticism did not match with their religion and their books because they disbelieved Muhammad (peace be upon him) even though he was the greatest credence in their religion and their books so they left that belief and didn’t recognize him knowingly with ignorance and obstinacy…
Fa’atayna alladina aamano: so We gave those who believed in Muhammad (peace be upon him)…
Minhum ajrahum: the reward of their faith and of their deeds multiplying them many times which they deserved because of those deeds…
Wa katheerum minhum fasiqoon: and most of them were defiantly disobedient, the ones who left the demand of their religion and their books by the denial of Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Uzair: “So Allah says about the Christians, not only do they feel empathy, the followers of the Prophet Jesus (as), they do something about it. Even in His Anger He points out the kindness they possess. Then He says they become ascetics which He did not oblige upon them. Then again even in that criticism, He says they did it thinking they could gain My Pleasure. But then they could not carry the burden of the act.
So coming back to the essence of the verses. forgive people and their mistakes, their shortcomings. Don’t just accept the goodness of their nature, highlight it.”
Subhan Allah!
The point Uzair wanted to make finally came;
“So if Allah has this approach for worship and deeds, giving the best ajr, reward, looking for the best of them, then will it not be the case that if we attach our beings, our own selves to those considered best by him, then by the blessings bestowed upon them, we will also become better and then best? If most mediocre deeds can be made perfect, then why won’t ordinary people be rendered extraordinary?”
The lecture had motivated me to contact those who had been acting crazy. We had been out of touch without animosity but weeks had gone by. In my usual haste, I made contact only to be rebuffed. Again! I felt bad. Iblis whispered words that made me feel slighted. My nafs felt wounded. It had been a while since that happened so I was taken aback by the emotions. They were all negative and draining.
For two nights I suffered. But then I came out of it because of the attempt to remind myself that they were my loved ones. And I was theirs. What I didn’t control so well was my tongue if I spoke about them. I would use sarcasm and berate them. They were just words not really my feelings. But that was exactly what made me insincere. I would know that as I saw them coming out of my mouth and entering my ears. It was pure reaction that was entirely habitual.
And then I came upon these words in the Tafseer e Tustari;
[6:152] …And if you speak, be just...
وَإِذَا قُلْتُمْ فَٱعْدِلُوا۟
And when you speak then be just.
Surah Al An’am, Verse 152
Hazrat Sahel (ra) said: “The people of veracity (ṣidq) speak in four ways: they speak in God, through God, for God or with God. There are other people who speak to themselves and for themselves, and so they are preserved from the evil of speech.
Yet other people speak about others and forget themselves, and so they innovate and go astray. Wretched is that which they have produced for themselves!
So abandon speech for knowledge, and then only speak when it is necessary, and you will be preserved from the ills of speech. What is meant [by ‘when it is necessary’] is that you should not speak unless you are afraid that you will otherwise fall into sin.
Then he said: Whoever makes a [false] assumption (ẓann) will be deprived of certainty, and whoever speaks about that which does not concern him will be deprived of veracity.”
That’s where I was landing more than anything. I found that badgumani, feeling mistrust towards others, almost always wrongly, was the most major bane of my nafs. That was the downside of being sensitive. I guess that is how I was depriving myself of certainty.
The narration I chose for my video to mark Imam Ali’s (as) birth is recorded in every tafseer of any merit; The blessed Imam (as) gives a silver ring he is wearing to a person asking for alms in the Masjid e Nabawi. He is mid-prayer in the position of ruku’, when one bends at right angles to the hip, touching their hands upon their knees. The verse that marks his gesture and the incident ends with the identifier of who it is revealed for; wa hum ra’kioon – they are the ones who give charity while they bow in prayer in ruku.’
The closing line of the video was a quote by the Imam (as) about his condition in every prayer;
لم اعبد ربا لم اره
“Never did I pray before The Lord who raised me
without seeing Him.”
I couldn’t stop marveling about what he said and how it connected to the giving of his alms precisely in the moment that he was seeing God. Then diverting himself from that seeing to loosen a ring and drop it from his finger for someone seeking charity. Because the ask was in His Name.
Was it any wonder that the act was purifying, that the Quran states to be the means of gaining forgiveness through the prayer of The Beloved (peace be upon him) which brought with it cleansing and purification, dignity, inner peace, calmness, tranquility for the heart, steadfastness in Tauheed and imaan. It’s true, there is no Bestower like Allah when He is Al Wahhab!
In one of my recent Quran classes at my cousins’ place, Danoo had told us all something that blew everyone away. As best as I can recall it, she said that they were those amongst Mankind who were bestowed the nazar, gaze of The Beloved (peace be upon him) such that Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) allowed them to see him in certain moments of his life.
Time travel has already been confirmed by many Spiritual Masters of the day as the miracle of the awaited last Imam, Mehdi (ra), but it always existed for all the Friends of God.
“So someone was able to see Huzoor (peace be upon him) in a sitting with his companions or perhaps in a signing of a treaty or in a state of travel or anything. It was Huzoor’s (peace be upon him) gift to them.”
Almost everyone in the room had let out a cry of the deepest envy. It was beyond anyone’s imagination that such a thing could occur. I had been thinking about what I would have liked to have seen. The list was long. High on it for me was the splitting of the moon. I was taken by the incident even though I didn’t want to see or hear the infidels backtracking on their word and denying its happening while it unfolded in front of their eyes.
But I did want to see the moon separate from itself at his beckon. I wanted to see him step away from the pulpit to take Imam Hassan (as) and Imam Hussain (as) into his arms when they entered the Mosque while he was giving a sermon. I wanted to see him sit with his friends, the four of them, around the well in Medina to tell them they would all have houses near his in Paradise. I would be mesmerized by the way he greeted his most beloved child, Bibi Fatima (as), when she came to see him. I would have loved to see him enter Mecca, 13 years after being made to flee the city under threat to his life, the heads of all his enemies bowed in fear and trepidation, his own head bowed as well despite being the victor, out of pure humility to his Lord for granting him such a victory.
My list was endless indeed.
From Imam Ali’s (as) life, I would have liked to have seen, again amongst many things, the incident of the ring. The tafseer of the verse was this for the video from the Tafseer e Jilani was superb;
إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ
وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَهُمْ رَاكِعُونَ
Innama walliyyukum Allah: Only Allah is your Friend, The One who is in charge of your matters as related to all kinds of ordinary love…
Wa Rasooluhu: and so is His Messenger (peace be upon him), who is His Vice-regent second to Him, also in charge of your matters…
Walladina aamano: and those who brought faith in Allah with a love made special because of their following the Prophet (peace be upon him) and they…
Alladina yuqeemoona: are the ones who are forever…
As salata: in prayer that brings one close to Allah’s Essence…
And yu’toona az zakata: and they give charity which cleanses their hearts from focus on anything other than Allah…
Wa: in the state of…
Hum rak’ioon: ruku,’ bowing in their prayers, with humility.
Surah Al Maidah, Verse 55
The line made me look up something I had read months ago in the Tafseer e Tustari and no doubt quoted in a piece along the way;
Hazrat Sahl (ra) was asked about the words of the Prophet , ‘Seeking knowledge is an obligation (farīḍa) for every Muslim’.
He said, ‘This refers to the knowledge of [one’s]state (ḥāl).’
He was asked, ‘What is the knowledge of [one’s] state?’
Sahl (ra) replied: Inwardly it is sincerity (ikhlāṣ) and outwardly it is emulation (iqtidāʾ). Moreover, unless a person’s outward [self] (ẓāhir) is leading his inner [self] (bāṭin), and his inner self is the perfection (kamāl) of his outward self, he will merely be fatiguing his body.
Mālik b. Anas alluded to this point when he said, ‘Knowledge is not just about how much you can relate [from memory] (riwāya) but rather knowledge is a light that God places within the heart.’
He [Sahl] was asked, ‘How can a man recognise his state (ḥāl) and act upon it?’
He replied: “When you speak, your state is that of speech, and when you observe silence, your state is that of silence. When you stand your state is that of standing, and when you sit your state is that of sitting. [To have] knowledge of your state you should see whether it is for God or for other than Him. If it is for God you may settle in it, but if it is for other than Him you should abandon it.
This is the act of taking account of oneself (muḥāsaba) which ʿUmar enjoined when he said, ‘Call yourselves to account before you are called to account, and weigh yourselves up before you are weighed up…’ Indeed, ʿUmar used to beat his chest while calling himself to account.’”
The day I decided to end the piece was extraordinary. It was a Sunday. I was taking a friend visiting from the States for the best doughnuts in town and a street food lunch called a Bun Plaster. Towards the end she said she wanted to go by Daata Sahib’s (ra). It was the oldest and most revered shrine of the city and the Sub-continent, almost a 1,000 in existence. Her niece was driving the car and my first thought was, “Without a driver?”
The shrine is located in the inner city of Lahore and the place is always densely crowded. “Why not,” everyone else said. I knew Shaan had been dying to go there since I met him. He was wearing a baseball cap, black jeans that were always sliding down his waist, a shirt and jacket. The other thought that entered my mind was “How will we get Shaan to wear a veil to go inside?”
When we reached the entrance of the shrine, we basically breezed through security. One woman came running after us as if she had had an afterthought that a boy was coming into the women’s section. “Boy or girl?” she said pointing at Shaan. I was only too familiar with the question personally.
“Girl,” I said confidently. Shaan unzipped his jacket and let him pat her down. That was it. No one cared about the veil. He didn’t even take his hat off the whole time. We went in, placed flowers and prayed Maghrib with the congregation. I listened intently to the verses the Qari recited in the first two raka’t. Both were most beautiful.
The first ended with one of the most ma’roof lines of the Quran;
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِين
And did We not send you (O Beloved saw) except as a mercy for the Universe
and all that exists within it
Surah Al-Anbiya, Verse 107
My heart soared. The verse read aloud in the second raka’t had the same effect.
ٱرْجِعِىٓ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةًۭ مَّرْضِيَّةًۭ
فَٱدْخُلِى فِى عِبَدِى
وَٱدْخُلِى جَنَّتِى
Return to your Lord well pleased, and pleasing.
so enter then together with My Servants
and enter My Paradise.
Surah Al Fajr, Verse 89
We distributed cauldrons of food on our way to the car. We did everything one is meant to do! As we drove back, I told the younger kids about the verse`s we had prayed to. They listened silently. Shaan was quiet. When he did speak, he broke into extemporaneous poetry in Urdu. He always did that when he was excited. It never made sense to anyone except me who now knew him.
The first Coke Studio track in a year and a half had been released that morning. It was phenomenal; a beautiful duet by Naseebo Lal and Abeda Parveen. A woman who was unknown and supposedly from the humblest of backgrounds in Lahore, dirt poor, paired with the most important female Sufi artist of the continent, if not the world. All of us in the car from age 21 to 55 were moved by the sound of the music. It was one of those rare tracks that make the eyes cry and the heart soar.
The best thing about being cut off from the world, literally, because of the absence of being perpetually connected to the internet, is missing out on the bad news. And then the detail of the bad news. Many, including children, had recently died because of being stuck in snow in a hill station families had driven to just to see the snowfall. People kept talking about photos they couldn’t get out of their minds and the behaviour of hotel owners who had raised tariffs so much overnight that people had opted to sleep in their cars and therefore frozen to death.
I only knew about the incident because I saw a headline in Yahoo when I exited my mail. Luckily all I was thinking about was how the Person of the Shrine was the only one who decided what happened to those who came to him because there was a bulawa, invite, for them. Shaan, a 47 year old female, dressed like a 14 year old boy, had been welcomed with just a single question that had been posed to me my whole life. And not just in Lahore!
It made me think of the verse that all Honour belongs to Allah.
مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ ٱلْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ ٱلْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًاۚ إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ ٱلْكَلِمُ ٱلطَّيِّبُ وَٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّلِحُ يَرْفَعُهُۚۥ
Whoever desires for himself honor, (should know) then for Allah (alone) is all the Honor.
To Him ascends the good words, and righteous deeds raises it.
Surah Fatir, Verse 10
Tafseer e Jilani:
Man kana yureed ul izzata: The one who wants honour, endless, after which never comes humiliation ever, then he should turn towards Allah and makes his focus His One-ness.
Fa lillahe izzatu: For only Allah is the True Owner of Honour, which includes control, eternal majesty and all kingdoms…
Jami-an: overt (zahiri) and inner (batini). And the one who desires that Allah bestow upon him honour and control and absolute kingdoms and abundance that remains forever, then he should, in his initial stages toward Allah, praise Him by way of His Perfect Names and Exalted Attributes till his remembrance reaches the stages of their reflection in him.
This (the reflection) is the last effort and then he becomes a reflector of Allah’s Being, wanting to unveil the Veils of His Omnipotence, till he becomes present before Him, able to unveil Him and witness the Signs of His Names and Attributes on the surface of the Universe without the distortion created by others.
And overall (in summary), the one who seeks honour should be occupied in the Remembrance by Allah in the early stages because
Ilayhi yasadu alkalm at tayyabu: towards Him ascend good words which are the Prefect Names of Allah and His Exalted Attributes, increasing in frequency from the tongues of The Sincere and The Ones who Reflect in Allah’s Blessings and His Bounty…
Wal al amal as saleh: and (they should be occupied) in good deeds joined with ikhlas, sincerity and tabbatul, devotion to Him (also ascending towards Him)…
Yarfa’uhu: (which will be why) He then raises that deed founded upon sincerity and those good words allowing them to reach towards the stages of Closeness with Allah. So for the one whose sincerity in his deed is perfect, then the ranks of his words, which are raised towards Allah Subhanahu, are the highest and the most supreme to Him.
It was astonishing that link; the sincerity of my deeds being behind my tasbeeh of His Names reaching Him.
Just a few days after the visit to Daata Sahib (ra) I realized that Shaan was just a human being. Not perfected spirituality (albeit only in certain aspects) that I had made him out to be because he lived in a park. Because he had been homeless. Because he was alone. Because he possessed exactly nothing. Because he was attached to nothing. Because no one except God cared about him. He was simply human. He possessed the duality in his nature like everyone else. He felt anger and fear. He expressed resentment and envy.
The issue that unmasked his fragility was one that everyone faces. When his behaviour changed I discussed it with Qari Sahib. He said it was natural and it had to be waited out.
“Everyone needs time to heal,” he said. “From an old wound or a new one. Give it time.”
It was my fault anyway as usual. I had made Shaan out to be super human. He was not. His being alone had just made his idiosyncrasies more intense than other people’s. Being on the spectrum added its own layer on top of that. It had to be borne to see where he might land. Wherever that was, I would have to deal with it then.
In the beginning though when all options pointed towards him having to leave, I felt a deep anguish. I prayed and prayed and cried in those prayers. “Please God,” I begged, “Let Shaan become the way he was. Let him be happy and let his heart be calm and devoid of that which makes him now different.” I don’t believe I prayed that hard for a reversal in someone’s nature in my entire life. Even though he was not blood, he was not a friend.
The experience taught me something extremely important one day at Fajr when I lay in bed holding my tasbeeh, about to spin its beads. Every single thing and every single person in one’s life is an amanat of Allah. Everything is a bestowing, therefore it is only in a safe-keeping. There is no possession as such of anything. Nothing and no one belongs to anyone, except God.
It was like the second line in the video from the kalam. It was part of the tarana and everyone assumed it was just sounds that had no meaning. But they had meaning and it was the deepest meaning ever;
ہم تم تا نا نا نا، تا نانا رے
I reflect You,
I am yours,
I belong to You.
That night when I prayed Isha’ a thought came into my mind. Knowledge is a city, Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) says. He is that city, Madinat ul Ilm. But entrance into any city is through its door. And the Imam (as), he said, is that Bab oha, its Door. My learning about the faith before going to him in Iraq was like watching things from a drone; flying above but never being inside it.
It wasn’t until I arrived at that Door that my learning changed from the reading and listening and writing of words and edged somewhat slightly towards deed. Which incidentally is the third cure for a heart being shred to pieces from the onslaught of doubt and paranoia. For deed, says Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) is the path from which Satan, when he sees it, leaves. Deed, said the Imam (as), was what would bear witness to his faith. And faith, as I was made to learn in no uncertain terms, imaan, was nothing except the prize for the emulation of Allah’s Beloved (peace be upon him).
Hence for every act there was really only one deed. Just like for every path that lead to spirituality, there was only one door.
In the Tafseer e Jilani, Ghaus Pak (ra) writes again and again about the the verses of Paradise under which flow rivers. Those rivers are of ma’raifat, the Recognition of Allah Subhanahu, specifically three; Ilm ul Yaqeen, the Knowledge of Certainty, Ayn ul Yaqeen, the Witnessing of Certainty, Haq ul Yaqeen, the Truth of Knowledge.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّلِحَتِ يَهْدِيهِمْ رَبُّهُم بِإِيمَنِهِمْ ۖ
تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهِمُ ٱلْأَنْهَرُ فِى جَنَّتِ ٱلنَّعِيمِ
Indeed, those who believed and did good deeds, Allah will guide them by that faith.
Underneath them will flow the rivers in Gardens of Delight.
Surah Yunus, Verse 9
Tafseer e Jilani
Then said Allah Subhanahu, Exalted is He, according to His Way as it is always, when comes after admonishment glad tidings and vice versa…
Innalladina aamino: indeed, they who attained to faith in Allah and His Tauheed, One-ness…
Wa amilo salihaat: and they did good deeds as commanded by Him to better their states…
Yahdihim Rabbohum: their Lord will guide them towards the cosmos of His Tauheed…
Bi imaanihim: by their faith and their Ilm Yaqeeni, certainty of the Divine, that comes from knowledge…
Tajri min tahtahi mul anhaar: from rivers that flow beneath their feet i.e. streams of Ma’arif, Recognition of God and sprouting purls of the Truth of His Reality from the Ocean of His One-ness, with the colours of Ayn al Yaqeen, The Witnessing of Divine Certainty and Al Haq, the Truth of Divine Certainty…
Fi Jannaatin Naeem: i.e. they will be forever placed in the realm of these spiritual pleasures.
I started celebrating the month of Rajab at its advent. Like I do with Rabul Awwal, the month of the blessed birth of Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) and the month of Rabbu Thani, the month of the birth of Ghaus Pak (ra). This year a bunch of my friends sent money to partake in the distribution of food with me mostly because they were deeply affected by the verse about charity bringing them the prayer of Allah’s Beloved (peace be upon him).
Then I started a prayer I have only said once before in my life. When I secluded myself for three days in Ramadan, also only once in my life. It was a prayer favoured by the Imam (as), two nafal reading Surak Ikhlas a 100 times in each rak’at. It was not lost on me, the name of the Surah, sincerity, that it was the Surah of Tauheed, One-ness.
It was a distracted utterance, except for the beginning but it was joyous. Before I started I said a prayer for myself that I had just learnt from the Hazrat Yousuf (as), the Prophet Joseph.
رَبِّ قَدْ ءَاتَيْتَنِى مِنَ ٱلْمُلْكِ وَعَلَّمْتَنِى مِن تَأْوِيلِ ٱلْأَحَادِيثِ ۚ
فَاطِرَ ٱلسَّمَوَتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ أَنتَ وَلِىِّۦ
فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْءَاخِرَةِ ۖ
تَوَفَّنِى مُسْلِمًۭا وَأَلْحِقْنِى بِٱلصَّلِحِينَ
My Lord, indeed, you have given of the sovereignty and taught me of the interpretation of the events.
Creator of the heavens and the earth, You are my Protector, in the world and the Hereafter. Cause me to die as a Muslim, and join me with the righteous."
Hazrat Yusuf, Verse 101
Tafseer e Jilani
Then prayed Hazrat Yousuf (as) for himself and he said softly to his Lord, a prayer, that uttered from him only with wisdom, intellect and reasoning, with his invocation:
Rabbi: O my Lord who raises me, by Your Unmerited Affection and Your Bounty, with different kinds of guidance and favour that you have granted me…
Qad Aataytani: indeed You bestowed upon me and blessed me…
Min al mulk: from the Overt Kingdom i.e. the Kingship which is concerned with the realm of the existing world…
Wa allamtani min taaweel il hadeeth: and You taught me the interpretation of matters i.e. extracting conclusions from the events which happen in this world to what is in the Realm of the Unseen and its true explanation.
Faatir is samawat e wal ard: O One who created the heavens and the Earth i.e. the Realm of Allah’s Names, the reflection of which are the disappearing shadows apparent…
Anta: You are by Your Own Self, after you made me steadfast in Your One-ness and You disclosed to me Your Tauheed, that One-ness, and lifted the veils between me and it…
Walliya: You are my Supporter and The Controller of my affairs and The One who keeps my secrets…
Fi duniya wal akhira: in this world and the Hereafter i.e. in this life and the Afterlife…
Tawwafini: make me die and take my soul…
Muslim-an: surrendering, entrusting all my matters to you…
Walhiqni: and join me, with Your Special Favour…
Bi saliheen: with the righteous ones who are the ones who reformed their selves in this life and the Hereafter until they achieved success from You with the honour of meeting You.
For the second time I noted how the word salih was connected to reforming of one’s state, bettering it. It was markedly prominent in a line from the namaz which Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) uttered after Allah Subhanahu sends Salam upon him, thus bringing others into the Peace that Allah was bestowing upon him alone:
As-Salamu 'Alayna wa 'Ala 'Ibad-Allah-is-Saliheen
Peace be upon us and on the Righteous Servant of Allah.
It was almost always translated as righteous but Ghaus Pak (ra) was saying that the Saliheen were those who were in a perpetual state of reforming. Hazrat Yousuf’s (as), a Prophet’s invocation, was about being made to die in surrender and being joined with the ones who continue to reform themselves.
At sunset when the month started I was googling different things to gain more information on Rajab to preface my first email to my friends. Then I came across this:
The Imam Abdul Qadir Jilani (ra) said:
رجب شھر الزرع و شعبان شھر السقی و رمضان شھر الحصاد
و کل یحصد ما زرع و یجزی ما صنع
و من ضیع الزراعۃ ندم یوم حصادہ و احلف ظنہ مع سوء معادہ
Rajab is the month for sowing seeds, Sha’ban is the month for watering, and Ramadan is the month for reaping.
And all reap what they sow
and will be rewarded for what they did.
And the one who wasted the (season of) planting regretted it on the day of harvest
and found it to be against what he thought would be the result.
I was blown away by his words. That the cycle bore fruit in just 90 days!
For two nights I thought and thought about what seeds to plant and could not figure out what I should choose. Scholars had a singular take on what that seed should be; of worship. But worship was a function of ability granted. Meanwhile, my nafs only steered me in one direction; towards those I knew who were willfully absent. Because their hearts were shredded.
“Plant seeds of love for them,” it said to me earnestly, not with deceit. “Maybe they will come back.” I could almost hear the hope it felt, the need it was feeling for that return. I didn’t say anything. Then I started asking my Lord who raises me to choose my seeds for me.
The next day I went to the shrine of Hazrat Pir Turat Murad Shah (ra) in the park. I sat next to his blessed grave reading the Names of Allah and Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) that had just been put up inside it in a recent renovation.
Those Names of theirs that were His Manifestations in the Universe, His Signs and what paved the way towards Him.
I thought about my youth and how my seeds of love burst forth with the most gorgeous bloom in my early life when I was a seed myself. For decades we only flourished and grew more beautiful. In one decade alone everything began to wilt. No one knew that it was what became the state of the soul when it felt lonely. Or was it the nafs? It was as if the sun disappeared and water vanished.
I prayed and in the prayer I had a thought and in the thought I saw the seeds I wanted to sow. A seed for steadfastness in Tauheed, a seed of the deepest love for The Beloved (peace be upon him), a seed of wishing to be informed of the beings of who were the Saliheen who had been informed of Allah Subhanahu’s Essence by Him as the success granted to them for reforming themselves. And then, lastly, a seed for the ones I loved in the world. This time without names and faces and memories of a past that would never return. Not pegged with desire for reigniting what had turned to cold ashes. Just seeds, just love.
Then after weeks of not even opening Ghaus Pak’s (ra) Al Fath Ar Rabbani, the next night I lay in bed unable to sleep. I decided to read a line. The line that came was very familiar to me. It was a well known, hadith of Nabi Pak (peace be upon him):
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
الدُّنْيَا سِجْنُ الْمُؤْمِنِ
“The world is a prison for the believer.”
As someone who feels entrapped in the world, I felt like the hadith made me a Mo’min sometimes. But then came the explanation of the words;
Al Fath Ar Rabbani: “The world is a prison for the Mo’min. Thus when he will forget that prison, only then will he gain freedom for it.”
One line is all I had read and I had to pause. So it wasn’t about being attached to the world, being drawn to it, attracted to it, that made it a prison. It was the same entrapment for the one thinking everything about it was torment. For that meant that one was not forgetting it at all. Thus it was not freedom from it.
I realized how exactly the notion applied to people and attachment to them. Not one iota of any association lessened because of thinking badly of them or feeling unhappy because of them. It seemed to appear to be worse than being connected to them with happiness. At least that was not negative. For the tongue or the heart. The world was a prison for anyone aware of it.
My sighs just kept getting deeper!
Al Fath Ar Rabbani: “Those who attain to faith are in that prison (of the world) while those who gain ma’rifa, Recognition of Allah Subhanahu, are in a state of intoxication. Therefore they are entirely unaware of that prison because indeed, their Lord has made them sip the Drink of His Love for Him, and the Drink of His Affection for Him, and the Drink of His Desire for Him and the Drink of obliviousness from Creation and are only mindful of Him so they became detached from the prison and its inmates.”
Subhan Allah!
And once again my perception of myself, where I was at, what I thought, was turned upside down. The most massive revelation it bore for me what my usage of the word that meant the most to me all of my life; “love.” In the blooming decades I had used it rarely and therefore only sincerely with unquestionable devotion. It took me years for my tongue to utter it for the first time to anyone. I think I must have been well into my 20s. I don’t think I ever said it face to face to my mother or sister who died or my brother who is alive.
But in this decade of wilting, I overused it constantly. Mostly I echoed others until I started copying them and initiating it. Sometimes I thought it might make a bridge between those and myself who felt so far apart. But it was no longer true except in its desire to be true. It became just another word without meaning.
The Sufis say that the first movement of the Universe was love. Because Allah loved to be known.
كُنتُ كنزاً مَخفياً فأحببتُ أن أُعْرَف فخَلَقتُ الخَلْقَ لكي أُعرف
I, Allah, was a Treasure Hidden so I loved to be known
Therefore I created Creation so that I will be known.
Ahbabtu – “Loved”, not wanted to be known!
In my translation of another verse from Surah Yunus, I had learnt about the metaphysics of Creation and in it again was the word, love.
Hazrat Najmuddin Kubra (ra): So Allah called His Servants from Divine Knowledge (al ilm) towards existence (al wujood) by blowing His Breath and it is His saying:
فَإِذَا سَوَّيْتُهُۥ وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِى
So, when I have fashioned him and I breathed into him of My Spirit.
Surah Al Hijr, Verse 29
And He invites them from existence (al wujood) towards nothingness (al adam) and Divine Knowledge with love and it His saying:
ٱرْجِعِىٓ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةًۭ
Return to your Lord well pleased,
Surah Al Fajr, Verse 28
Qari Sahib was the one who had pointed it out: “Do you see how from nothingness to existence the impetus is the Breath of Allah and in the end of time, from existence to nothingness, the impetus is Allah’s Jazba, His Love.”
It was strange. So much about the Day of Judgement was about fear and loud trumpets and the skies rolling as if wrapping up a stage. And here it was said, Allah invited the nafs back to it with love.
And at 51 I no longer knew nothing about it!
So on the 2nd of Rabaj, I changed my fourth seed. I didn’t know how to plant seeds of love. I didn’t know what that meant in the ever changing context of life. So I decided to take a step back. I went to Nabi Kareem’s (peace be upon him) hadith;
عن جابر بن عبد الله قال : لما نزلت سورة "براءة" قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم :
بعثت بمداراة الناس
From Jābir b. ʿAbd Allāh (may God be pleased with them all), that he reported that when Sūrat Barāʾa (Tauba) was sent down, the Messenger of God said,
“I was sent to treat people with affability (mudārāt).”
In another hadith though he had used the word love and it was in relation to imaan, faith.
“The Momin is the one who loves and is loved.
And there is no goodness for the one who does not give love and receive love. The best amongst people is the one who gives others benefit.”
Then I was jumping up and down about how I had perceived it. Everyone wanted to love and be loved. Therefore everyone must be a Mo’min. Now it revealed to me that the state of being Mo’min was fluid. I loved and was loved intensely in my youth. I gave and received love happily. With sincerely, with certainty. I wasn’t praying much but was I a Mo’min then?
Rajab makes every single deed a seed. And makes mindfulness not a word but an existence in constancy. As much as I focus on what I do want to sow, I became aware of what I do not. For that too would end up bearing fruit. Bitter! I was being made aware of seeds planted from ages ago that were now just weeds taking up space and nutrients, taking up what plants needed in terms of light and water. I now knew it was the love that they sucked out first. That’s what caused them to begin to wither and die. Rajab was indeed a game-changer!
I even asked Qari Sahib about the last line of Ghaus Pak (ra), what it meant to have the opposite result.
“If you sow seeds of ingratitude, knowingly or unknowingly, or of being angry or being heedless, or uncharitable then what will happen come Ramadan is that you will have no desire to worship, or you will waste the chance to give to others, which is what the month is only and only for.”
It was decided; affability would be my fourth seed. Strangely enough the one seed that had to do with Creation might be the one that bears the least results. For I would not be taking initiatives. But when moments appeared, and they were already starting to, I could practice patience and gentleness, friendliness and warmth. For those were prerequisites. There wasn’t any need for gestures behind which lay murky intentions, convoluted. The need for pursuit was eliminated.
As the days progressed, on the 7th of Rajab, I found that my mindfulness, which always and only always emerged after the fact, after I had wronged, after I had erred, changed the timing of its appearance. For the first time I saw myself before I did something. The interactions were repetitive as was my behaviour in them despite everything. And suddenly, I paused before I spoke so as to not regret it immediately after.
And this was how I began, yet again, the process of entrusting my matters, all of them, as they related to ordinary love, to the ones who were in reality my only friends; Allah Subhanahu wa Rusooluhu (peace be upon him) and those who give charity, which cleanses the heart from focus on anything except Him, in the state of bowing in their prayers with humility.
in the name of Paradise and the one who causes it to be such - Sayyeda Zainab (greetings of peace upon her by her Lord and His Angels)
323. And the two seas are not alike. One is salty, the other sweet
وَمَا یَسۡتَوِی ٱلۡبَحۡرَانِ هَـٰذَا عَذۡبࣱ فُرَاتࣱ سَاۤىِٕغࣱ شَرَابُهُۥ وَهَـٰذَا مِلۡحٌ أُجَاجࣱۖ
وَتَرَى ٱلۡفُلۡكَ فِیهِ مَوَاخِرَ لِتَبۡتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضۡلِهِۦ وَلَعَلَّكُمۡ تَشۡكُرُونَ ١٢
And not are alike the two seas.
This (is) fresh, sweet, pleasant its drink, and this salty (and) bitter…
…so you see the ships in it, cleaving, so that you may seek of His Bounty, and that you may be grateful.
Surah Fatir, Verse 12
Tafseer e Jilani
Then exemplified Subhanahu both of the groups, the Mo’min, the believer and the Kafir, the denier of truth, as two seas sweet and salty, so He said:
Wa ma yastawi al bahraane: And the two seas are not alike in advantage and benefit received from them both because…
Hada: the (state of the) Mo’min, the attester to the sea of Imaan, faith and Irfaan, Divine Recognition, the one upon whom is poured water from the Sea of the Essence of One-ness…
Adb-un: is like water fresh and delightful, giving pleasure to the mind, sweet in perfect sweetness…
Furat-un: sweet, it breaks the persistent feeling of ill will (to harm and avenge people) for those burning with thirst in the mirage of the world with the coolness of Yaqeen, certainty…
Saa’ighun sharaabuhu: easy is its drinking i.e. easy is its going down, for those set up on the nature of Tauheed, Allah Subhanahu’s One-ness.
Wa hada: And this (the other sea/group) i.e. the Kafir, the denier of truth/ungrateful, malevolent, unkind, is in the sea of ghaflat, unawareness and carelessness…
Milh-un: (is like water) salty, it does not reform a person who wants to reform themselves, whoever tastes from it, instead…
Ujaaj-un: (it is) burning, bitter, corrupting for the disposition. The one who tasted from it was destroyed, devastatingly, forever such that there is no rescue for him, instead…
Wa: the sea of bitterness, in it is still an advantage, but there is no benefit for the Kafir, the denier of truth, and the wayward at all.
…
Wa taral fulka fihi muwakhira litabtaghu min fadlihi wa la’allakum tashkuroon: So you see the ships in it, cleaving, so that you may seek of His Bounty, and that you may be grateful i.e. He wished that you are grateful for His Blessings and you increase upon your selves more and more of His Munificence.
And the utterance of Astaghfirullah...I seek the forgiveness of Allah...begins as a first in zikr
324. Each one will bear their own burden. Not even family will bear the burden of another. And whoever purifies themselves, purifies themselves for their own sake
وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةࣱ وِزۡرَ أُخۡرَىٰۚ وَإِن تَدۡعُ مُثۡقَلَةٌ إِلَىٰ حِمۡلِهَا لَا یُحۡمَلۡ مِنۡهُ شَیۡءࣱ وَلَوۡ كَانَ ذَا قُرۡبَىٰۤۗ
إِنَّمَا تُنذِرُ ٱلَّذِینَ یَخۡشَوۡنَ رَبَّهُم بِٱلۡغَیۡبِ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَۚ وَمَن تَزَكَّىٰ فَإِنَّمَا یَتَزَكَّىٰ لِنَفۡسِهِۦۚ
وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلۡمَصِیرُ ١٨
And not bearer will bear burdens (of) another.
And if calls a heavily laden to (carry) its load, not will be carried of it anything even if he be (from) near of kin. Only you can warn those who are conscious of their Lord - unseen and establish the prayer.
And whoever purifies himself, then only he purifies for his own self. And to Allah (is) the destination.
Surah Fatir, Verse 18
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And after that you recognized the Qudra, Authority, of Allah and you heard of the perfection of His Being in no need of anything, so for all of you is compulsory, the executing His Commands and staying away from what He has forbidden because…
La taziru: no nafs, self, will, bear …
Waaziratu-n: as the bearer of burdens for being sinful, resisting authority…
Wizra: the burden (of) a wrong action of the nafs, self, that is indisciplined…
Ukhra wa in tad’u: of another and if any nafs asks…
Musqalatu-n: heavily laden by burdens and resisting authority…
Ila himliha: to share its burden i.e. someone else carry some of the burdens received by it to lessen them…
La yuhmal minhu shay-an: it will not carry any thing from another’s burden even if it consents to carry the burden because it is the demand of Allah’s Justice…
Wa lau kana: And if the person who was called to carry the burden…
Da qurba: is the family i.e. from the family of the asker still all of the selves on that Day pledged (to carry) what they earned from their resistance. Each nafs will carry for its own self and no accountability will be for it except what it earned.
Then said Subhanahu addressing His Beloved (sending salutations and greetings upon him and his family the whole while) in the matters of His Servants:
Innama tundiru alladina yakhshauna Rabba-hum bil ghaib: only will you warn those who surrender to their Lord Unseen meaning: they is not beneficial, your warnings, which you recite O Akmal Ar Rusul, O Messenger who perfects Messenger-hood (salutations and greetings upon you and your family are sent by Him) upon those wayward, with the exception of the group who are fearful of Allah and His Wrath and His Punishment, even though He is unseen for them, hearing Him, in submission to what has descended from Him, fearful of what can come from Him suddenly…
Wa: and along with that…
Aqaamus salata: they established prayer commanded, bringing closeness for them to His Essence, Al Mukhlisoona, sincere in it, Al Muttaharreena, purifying their selves from the inclination of everything except Allah Al Haqq, The Only Truth.
Wa man tazakka: And the one who purified himself and he cleansed his self from the leaning towards the capacity to invent a deceitful practice and whims…
Fa innama yatazakka li nafsihi: so indeed he only purified his nafs for his own self because the benefit of his purification returned to him, beneficial for him in his beginning and his end.
Wa: And after his purification from the demands of being human and the demands of animalistic desires which block from reaching of the origin of his nature…
Ilallahi: towards Allah, Al Munazza, The One Above all shortcomings, Al Mubarra’, The One Above all things lowly…
Al Maseer-u: (who is) The Destination i.e. Al Munqallab, the place returned to and the final abode i.e. everything returns towards Him and everyone’s purpose is Him Subhanahu.
325-326. And the blind and seeing are not equal, nor the darkness and the light
وَمَا یَسۡتَوِی ٱلۡأَعۡمَىٰ وَٱلۡبَصِیرُ
وَلَا ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتُ وَلَا ٱلنُّورُ
And not equal (are) the blind and the seeing,
And not the darkness[es] and not [the] light,
Surah Fatir, Verse 19-20
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: But…
Ma yastawi: they are not equal in closeness and rank according to Allah…
Al a’ma: the blind, Al Ghafil, the forgetful ones, Al Jahil, the ignorant, about how to make the returning and attention…
Wal baseer: and the seeing ones, Al Arif, the ones who recognize Allah, Al Alim, the knowing ones, seeing with the signs of reaching and ascension.
Wa la dulumaat: And (they are also not equal) the darkness, which is layered upon each other, thick and these are the darkness of tabyat (acquired nature), and the darkness of chaos, and the darkness of what is superficially created, and the darkness of the egos different, which become heavy until it becomes a curtain, hard and a veil heavy, making blind the eyes, which were set up upon seeing and pondering upon the demands of matters of Allah’s Wrath and Awe.
Wa la noor: (with) the one radiant, upon whom come unveilings from the Essence of One-ness according to His Will, Subtle and Beautiful.
327-328. And not the shade and the heat and nor life and death. The ones in graves cannot hear
وَلَا ٱلظِّلُّ وَلَا ٱلۡحَرُورُ
وَمَا یَسۡتَوِی ٱلۡأَحۡیَاۤءُ وَلَا ٱلۡأَمۡوَٰتُۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ یُسۡمِعُ مَن یَشَاۤءُۖ
وَمَاۤ أَنتَ بِمُسۡمِعࣲ مَّن فِی ٱلۡقُبُورِ
And not the shade and not the heat,
And not equal (are) the living and not the dead.
Indeed, Allah causes to hear whom He wills, and not you can make hear (those) who (are) in the graves.
Surah Fatir, Verse 21-22
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa la dillu: And (they are not equal) the Shadow of Allah Al Ilahi, The Lord, the Shadow being like Al Mirwah li Arwah, a fan giving tranquility to the souls of the people of love and compliance by the fragrances of the breezes of the different kinds of Divine Treasures and Honour…
Wa lal haroor: and the heat i.e. the burning which destroys rising, flowing from the possibilities of hopes, which are mixed with the darkness of the tabyat (secondary nature) rising from the clouds of desires and the fires of lusts.
Wa: And overall…
Ma yastawi: they are also not equal according to Allah Al Aleem, The All Knowing, Al Hakeem, The Only Possessor of Wisdom…
Al ahya: the alive with the life of ma’rifa, His Recognition, and Imaan, faith, and Yaqeen, certainty and irfaan, His Knowledge, a life from the beginning to the end, everlasting. There is no command for that life that it is completed (because it is in the Hereafter and therefore eternal) and there is no occurrence for it that it becomes nothing.
Wa la al-amwaat: and the dead (are not equal) because of the death of jahl, ignorance and adlaal, being astray and the different kinds of ghaflat, carelessness and nisyaan, forgetfulness, the ones who are Haalikeen, destroyed in the essential nature of possibilities, forever abiding in the corner of wasting away and humiliation.
Innallaha: Indeed Allah is, Al Aleem, The All Knowing, Al Hakeem, The Only One with Wisdom, Al Muttaqqin, The One Perfect in His Actions…
Yusmae’u: He causes hearing and He guides…
Mayya sha’u: who He wills from His Servants, bestowing for them and giving favours to them which leads them towards the Path of His One-ness…
Wa maa anta: and you are not, O Akmal Ar Rusul, O Messenger who completed Messengerhood (salutations and greetings upon you continuously by the Heavens)…
Bi musmi’-in: able to make them hear, as the guide and the instructor…
Man fil quboor: the ones in the graves i.e. the one who was permanently fixed, whose abode has been made in the hole of jahl ignorance, (like a) knot, and the fire of possibilities and the happenings from negligence and forgetfulness because they are set up upon the state of being beguiled by their inattentive nature and animalistic tendencies. There is no accountability for you regarding giving them guidance or instructing them at all.
Then on a random flip to a page in the height of anxiety come this revelation:
Al Fath Ar Rabbani – The Istikhara in intense distress
And this verse:
وَمَن یَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ یَجۡعَل لَّهُۥ مَخۡرَجࣰا
And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out,
وَیَرۡزُقۡهُ مِنۡ حَیۡثُ لَا یَحۡتَسِبُۚ
And He will provide for him from where not he thinks (its possible).
Surah At Talaq, Verse 2-3
Tafseer Jilani
Wa: And overall…
Mayyattaqillah: the one who is mindful of Allah Subhanahu and safeguards his nafs, self, from His Qahr, Wrath, and Ghadab, Displeasure and keeps watch over himself from crossing the limits of His Boundaries which are drawn by Him, (the boundaries created) for the safeguarding of the rights of the people, especially the rights of spouses and practice mutual love for each other and (the one who) relies upon Him in all his states and entrusted his matters, all of them, to Him…
Yaj’al lahu: He, Allah Subhanahu, makes for him…
Makhrajan: a way out from the narrowness of possibilities which give result to different kinds of khudlan, humiliation and khusraan, losses.
Wa yarzaquhu: And He gives sustenance and carries towards him all of his needs that he is needful of in the subsistence of his family…
Min haysu la yahtasibu: i.e. from a place not expected and where he doesn’t have to wish for it to come from.
(This verse) closed the door of depending on means. It closed the door of the wealthy and the kings and opened the door of tawakkul, reliance.
The one who was mindful, the reward for him is that He will make relief for him and a way out from what is constricted for (other) people.
What should I do with you, say to you? You would have been heard if you called the living but he is not alive, the one you call.
Your heart is empty of islam, surrender and imaan, faith and iqaan, certainty. There is no ma’rifat, Divine Recognition, for you. There is no ilm, knowledge, for you. For you are only hawas, indulging in foolish behaviour that is dangerous and speaking to you is a waste.
O hypocrites! You were contented with words about tawakkul, reliance upon Allah, with your tongues while your hearts are mushrik, worshippers of other gods, in creation (by attaching your hopes and expectations with them). My heart is filled with anger towards you out of ardency for Allah Azzo Jal. If you are silent and you leave your rivalry (with Him), it is better otherwise your houses will be burned.
The Prayer:
يا حائلا بين الماء المالح والعذب،
حل بيننا وبين التسخط عليك والمنازعة لك في أقدارك،
حل بيننا وبين معاصيك ببرزخ من رحمتك
آمين.
Ya Hail-u! O One who protects, stops, obstructs and causes not to happen by coming in between the water salty and fresh.
Come between us and between discontentment towards You and quarreling with You about fate decreed.
Come between us and between resistances to Your Authority with the barzakh, the protective partition, of Your Rahma, Mercy!
Ameen…
O listener! If you were Muttaqi, the one who is mindful and conscious of your Rabb, who raised you, Azzo Jal, Dakir, in remembrance of Him, as Muwwahidan, in union only with Him, Musheeran, pointing towards Him, before the trial, then when you are dropped into the fire of the distress that causes suffering, He will order,
یَـٰنَارُ كُونِی بَرۡدࣰا وَسَلَـٰمًا
O fire! Be coolness and safety.
From the Tafseer e Jilani for Surah Al Anbiya, Verse 69
Ya Naaro: O Fire, created on the nature of burning and heat…
Kooni bardan: become cool and leave your burning and heat…
Wa: and don’t harm Our Friend by your coolness as well but instead become…
Salaman: safety i.e. a glad reception and peaceful for him and don’t harm him.
Unreal! That the endless looped thinking about possibilities, which are named as fire and poison in their essential nature because they almost always only veil unkindness and ill-will, upon their recognition and instant expression of regret, seeking refuge for their existence from what has become now a shackle of habit, can be separated from one's self with Allah Subhanahu Himself as the Partition. That fire can be cool and safe and harmless...not just for the Prophet Ibrahim (as)...but for me...unreal!
And then just today in an unexpected class with my teacher comes the meaning of verse that has been on pages I randomly opened in Qurans at different shrines.
328. The Prayer: Ya Rabbi, forgive me and hide me from my self and have mercy upon me so I become dissolved in You and You are the Best of those who show mercy
وَقُل رَّبِّ ٱغۡفِرۡ وَٱرۡحَمۡ وَأَنتَ خَیۡرُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِینَ
And say, "My Lord! Forgive and have mercy, and You (are the) Best (of) those who show mercy."
Surah Al Mo’minoon, Verse 118
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And after that Subhanahu made it certain, the success for the Mo’mineen, the believers, Al Muwwahideen, who are certain in the One-ness of Allah, in the beginning of this Surah and He deprived the Kafireen, the deniers of truth, Al Mushrikeen, the ones who associate others with Allah in the end (of the Surah)…
Qul: Say O Akmal Ar Rusul, O Messenger who completes the Messengerhood (greetings and salutations upon him and his family by His Allah who loves him), educating everyone who considers you his leader and follows in your footsteps and warning them as well of this and reminding them…
Rabbi: O my Lord who raised me by your Kunf, Protection and Jawar, Safe Guarding…
Ighfir: Forgive me and hide for me my egoistic self from my inner eyes…
Warham: and have mercy upon me by the negation of the essence of my nature and dissolve it in Your Essence.
Wa anta: And You with Your Essence and Your Names and Your Attributes…
Khair ur Rahimeen: are the Best of the Merciful, who are also demands of Your Attributes and reflections of Your Names and everything is with You and from You and there is no one who is Merciful except You and there is no Lord for me other than You.
And a circle of movement that started in Sham on a roof-top gazing at skies blue completes itself because of the one in Sham who is the core of the softness of the heart of her grand-father (greetings and salutations pour upon him and his family by The One who raised him like no other)...Subhan Allah!
Continued from: www.flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/52652408863/in/datepos...
My Master’s Wrath and Mercy
رَبَّنَاۤ إِنَّكَ مَن تُدۡخِلِ ٱلنَّارَ فَقَدۡ أَخۡزَیۡتَهُۥۖ وَمَا لِلظَّـٰلِمِینَ مِنۡ أَنصَارࣲ
Our Lord! Indeed [You] whom You admit in the Fire then surely You (have) disgraced him, and not for the wrongdoers (are) any helpers.
Surah Aal e Imran, Verse 192
Tafseer e Jilani
Rabbana innaka man tudkhil in-naar: O my Lord! Indeed You are the one who admits into the Fire, so surely…
Akhzaytahu: you have disgraced him and made him (stuck) in the narrowness of imkaan, possibilities, imprisoned, punished, exiled (from Your Self), because they wronged themselves with their focus upon those other than You…
Wa ma lid-daalimeen: and there isn’t for the transgressors, the ones who have firmly placed themselves in the shadows of imkaan, possibilities…
Min ansaar: any helper who can help them and make them exit from those possibilities, except for the one who received permission from You to (be a helper) and make them exit from the possibilites from amongst the Prophets and the Auliya, Your Friends, after Your granting ability to them by the sending of the Messengers.
On the evening of that second day of hell, I went to the shrine near my house. I did not ask the blessed person of the shrine for anything. Not for relief, not for some understanding of how I had become so entrapped in a thought that only appeared to be nonsensical. I couldn’t even discuss it with anyone. Not that there was anyone to discuss it with! I sat there like a zombie for a while and then left. I knew in my silence, I had surrendered the matter in any case.
When I entered my bedroom, I saw a copy of Al Fath Ar Rabbani that I didn’t use for my regular reading. Qari Sahib had gifted it to me but it was much heavier and larger than my Urdu copy. This one had a side by side Arabic to Urdu translation on each page. I prayed the prayer of the istakhara and pried the book open to a random page.
Al Fath Ar Rabbani:
It started with a verse:
وَمَن یَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ یَجۡعَل لَّهُۥ مَخۡرَجࣰا
And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out,
وَیَرۡزُقۡهُ مِنۡ حَیۡثُ لَا یَحۡتَسِبُۚ
And He will provide for him from where he doesn’t think (it is possible).
Surah At Talaq, Verse 2-3
I didn’t look up the exegesis of the verse then. Qari Sahib wasn’t there anyway and I really wanted to know what the rest of the page said.
“(The above verse) closed the door of depending on means. It closed the door of the wealthy and the kings and opened the door of tawakkul, reliance. The one who was mindful, the reward for him is that He, Subhanahu, will make relief for him and a way out from what is constricted for (other) people.”
The first two lines gave me pause. Doors had been spoken about earlier. Now Ghaus Pak (ra) was closing them. Two of the people I happened to be thinking of were in fact rich. They were wealthy. That had never played into our interaction in terms of a factor. There wasn’t a remarkable difference in our life styles. But the mention was specific for a reason. That was not lost on me.
I continued to read each word, carefully going back and forth from the Arabic to the Urdu.
“What should I do with you, say to you? You would have been heard if you called the living but he is not alive, the one you call.”
From the word “alive” I knew again that I had already been told, warned, alerted by all those verses about the dead and the graves, the deaf and the blind. Not once but repeatedly. Each time gently. After translating the verses I had always felt calm. Then just like that I would forget them as if they had never even appeared.
Then in the next line, Ghaus Pak (ra) expressed his fury at my own “prolonged” state of stubborn-ness and ignorance and he didn’t mince his words.
“Your heart is empty of islam, surrender and imaan, faith and iqaan, certainty. There is no Ma’rifat, Divine Recognition, for you. There is no ilm, knowledge, for you. For you are only hawas, indulging in foolish behaviour that is dangerous, therefore speaking to you is a waste.”
That’s when my heart first felt fear. Never ever before had Ghaus Pak (ra) said anything remotely harsh to me. Speaking to me was a waste of his time? I just stared at the words in disbelief.
“O hypocrites! You were contented with words about tawakkul, reliance upon Allah, with your tongues while your hearts are mushrik, worshippers of other gods in Creation. My heart is filled with anger towards you out of ardency (of love) for Allah Azzo Jal. If you are silent and you leave your rivalry (with Him), it is better, otherwise your houses will be burned.”
My heartbeat increased. I stopped reading.
“Your houses will be burned.” “My heart is filled with anger.” I felt scared to read the next line.
But then I saw that it was a prayer. For it was addressing Subhanahu and it started with the words, “Ya Haailo…”
It was a new Name of Allah for me. The word existed in Urdu as well. I knew what it mean. Haa’il, that which comes in between. I peered at the next words closely, fearfully. And it said:
يا حائل بين الماء المالح والعذب،
“Ya Haail-u! O One who protects, stops and obstructs and causes not to happen, by coming in between the water salty and fresh.”
The appearance of the words from the verse I had just translated was uncanny.
حل بيننا وبين التسخط عليك والمنازعة لك في أقدارك،
“Come between us and between discontentment towards You and quarreling with You about fate decreed.
حل بيننا وبين معاصيك ببرزخ من رحمتك
Come between us and between resistances to Your Authority with the barzakh, the protective partition, of Your Rahma, Mercy!
آمين
Ameen…”
Each time I moved to the Urdu the words had a pounding effect on me. To be sure of the meaning, I started looking up each Arabic word.
التسخط : displeasure, irritation, anger.
المنازعة : opposition, disagreement, conflict, dispute.
معاصي : resistance to authority.
I was left dumbfounded.
He continued:
“O listener! If you were Muttaqi, the one who is mindful and conscious of your Rabb, who raised you, Azzo Jal, Dakir, in remembrance of Him, as Muwwahidan, in union only with Him, Musheeran, pointing towards Him, before the trial, then when you are dropped into the fire of the distress that causes suffering, He will order,
یَـٰنَارُ كُونِی بَرۡدࣰا وَسَلَـٰمًا
O fire! Be coolness and safety.
After that it was a crazy day.
Ghaus Pak (ra) had exactly followed the Sunnah of the Quran. First had come the admonition, then the mercy. For an hour, I stared at the page and read it over and over. My heart sank every time I came to the words of his wrath. It was the first time in my life that my Master was angry with me.
I couldn’t get over it. Obedience was woven, no, kneaded into my nature. But all my efforts that had to do with changing the fabric of my nafs were superficial. Giving charity was easy. It was the expression of gratitude. As promised it brought me a serene state of peace. Why wouldn’t I do it only sincerely, in utter obedience? Why wouldn’t I increase it? I was the recipient of all its rewards which were truly indescribable in terms of rendering me a joy.
It was the changing of the nafs that was impossible.
I decided to immediately memorize the prayer. It was about to entail for me the most perfect expression of fear and sincere need for deliverance. That was something that I had never experienced before.
First I went back to re-read the verse of the seas salty and sweet.
That was the first moment I realized, I am both a Mo’min and I am a Kafir. All I could see in the state of being a Mo’min was the ill-will in my disposition. And all I could see in my state of Kufr was my carelessness and unawareness. There was no longer an “other.” In everything it was only me!
That was first forced the question; when am I which?
وَمَا یَسۡتَوِی ٱلۡبَحۡرَانِ هَـٰذَا عَذۡبࣱ فُرَاتࣱ سَاۤىِٕغࣱ شَرَابُهُۥ وَهَـٰذَا مِلۡحٌ أُجَاجࣱۖ
And not are alike the two seas.
This (is) fresh, sweet, pleasant its drink, and this salty (and) bitter…
Surah Fatir, Verse 12
Tafseer e Jilani
Then exemplified Subhanahu both of the groups, the Mo’min, the believer and the Kafir, the denier of truth, as two seas sweet and salty, so He said:
Wa ma yastawi al bahraane: And the two seas are not alike in advantage and benefit received from them both because…
Hada: the (state of the) Mo’min, the attester to the sea of Imaan, faith and Irfaan, Divine Recognition, the one upon whom is poured water from the Sea of the Essence of One-ness…
Adb-un: is like water fresh and delightful, giving pleasure to the mind, sweet in perfect sweetness…
Furat-un: sweet, it breaks the persistent feeling of ill will (to harm and avenge people) for those burning with thirst in the mirage of the world with the coolness of Yaqeen, certainty…
Saa’ighun sharaabuhu: easy is its drinking i.e. easy is its going down, for those set up on the nature of Tauheed, Allah Subhanahu’s One-ness.
Wa hada: And this (the other sea/group) i.e. the Kafir, the denier of truth or ungrateful, malevolent, unkind, is in the sea of ghaflat, unawareness and carelessness…
Milh-un: (is like water) salty, it does not reform a person who wants to reform themselves, whoever tastes from it, instead…
Ujaaj-un: (it is) burning, bitter, corrupting for the disposition. The one who tasted from it was destroyed, devastatingly, forever such that there is no rescue for him, instead…
Wa: the sea of bitterness, in it is still an advantage, but there is no benefit for the Kafir, the denier of truth, and the one who refuses to be guided at all.
The Kufr a Muslim most often imbues is that of ingratitude.
That is why the Quran says, it is a choice.
إِنَّا هَدَيْنَهُ ٱلسَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًۭا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا
Indeed, We guided him to the way, whether he be grateful and whether he be ungrateful.
Surah Al Insaan, Verse 3
Tafseer e Jilani
Allah Subhanahu made the way clear completely and perfectly. Now the human being has the choice:
Imma shakiran: Either he becomes grateful, occupied with the thankfulness of blessings and regularity upon fulfilling the rights of Divine Kindness, giving the reins of his determination and his choice to the rightful guidance and commands so that he may become of the Arbaab il Anayate wa Sadaad, the people of blessings and correct-ness and Al Mutana’imeena, the ones granted favours in the Heaven of Raza, God’s Pleasure and Tasleem, surrender.
Wa imam kafoor-an: Or he can be ungrateful for blessings (bestowed), being in denial of The One bestowing the blessings, following in the footsteps of the people of ghafalat, forgetfulness and enemity (towards Allah), disputing and being corrupt until he will become of the people of Hell.
“The people forever burning in the fire of possibilities!”
The intensity of the incident first exploded upon me once I started reciting the prayer. Each time I uttered the words, I broke down so severely, it was like someone beloved to my heart had died. Each time I heard the words in my ear that I was displeased, in opposition, resistant to my Lord, to His Authority, to His Being, I would cover my ears with my hands and almost wail.
One word entered my life like it had never done before. I had been saying a tasbeeh of it for years but my heart hadn’t felt the plea in the words even once till now.
Astaghfirullah! – I seek the forgiveness of my Lord!
I would repeat it incessantly through my tears. But the prayer had three lines and each line had in it a word that was the proof of my state of rebellion. The experience was intense and whatever I’m writing here to express it, the truth is that it is inexpressible. It cannot be related.
Only when the last line came,
ببرزخ من رحمتك
…with the barzakh, the protective partition, of Your Rahma, Mercy!
did I feel a tranquility come over me so instantly, every other feeling preceding it absolute vanished. Obviously I became hooked to the prayer.
I started saying it every single time an imkaan returned, those useless, worthless, mirages of possibilities bearing my ill-will towards others who were all absent and insignificant. I would say the prayer from the beginning till the end. Each time I spanned the cycle in the same way. I cried and cried, my tears trying to drown my self.
Then I would despise myself for being in such abominable state. How could I have the audacity to be displeased, quarreling, resistant? I would be pausing through the entire utterance with Astaghfirullah in repetition until I would reach the part of the barzakh, the partition. Then again I would be calm like nothing had happened. Instantly!
وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَۖ
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورࣱ رَّحِیمُۢ
And seek forgiveness (of) Allah. Indeed, Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Surah Al Muzzammil, Verse 20
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And what happened to you in your past which came from the leaving of istighfar, the seeking of forgiveness…
Astaghfirullah: (so now it is time to) keep seeking the forgiveness of Allah, Al Mufaddil, The Bestower of Bounty, Al Mukarrim, The Granter of Forgiveness for what you did and become occupied with compliance to His Commands in the rest of your life as compensation for what has elapsed.
Innallaha: Indeed Allah, Al Muta’lliu, The Only One informed of your regrets and your intentions in it (that seeking of forgiveness and being in obedience of His Orders)…
Ghafoorun: is Forgiving, He forgives your sins from the past also…
Raheem-un: is All Merciful, He accepts your tauba, repentance, which is followed by your errors by His Favour and His Generosity (of which you are undeserving).
The prayer took over my life for the next few days. I didn’t speak about it to anyone. I continued my classes with Qari Sahib. In my next class, the first thing I did was look up the verse my page had opened to:
وَمَن یَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ یَجۡعَل لَّهُۥ مَخۡرَجࣰا
And whoever is in taqwa, conscious of Allah, He will make for him a way out,
وَیَرۡزُقۡهُ مِنۡ حَیۡثُ لَا یَحۡتَسِبُۚ
And He will provide for him from where not he thinks (it is possible).
Surah At Talaq, Verse 2-3
Tafseer Jilani
Wa: And overall…
Mayyattaqillah: the one who is mindful of Allah Subhanahu and safeguards his nafs, self, from His Qahr, Wrath, and Ghadab, Displeasure and keeps watch over himself from crossing the limits of His Boundaries which are drawn by Him, (the boundaries created) for the safeguarding of the rights of the people, especially the rights of spouses and practice mutual love for each other and (the one who) relies upon Him in all his states and entrusted his matters, all of them, to Him…
Yaj’al lahu: He, Allah Subhanahu, makes for him…
Makhrajan: a way out from the narrowness of possibilities which give result to different kinds of khudlan, humiliation and khusraan, losses.
Wa yarzaquhu: And He gives sustenance and carries towards him all of his needs that he is needful of in the subsistence of his family…
Min haysu la yahtasibu: i.e. from a place not expected and where he doesn’t have to wish for it to come from.
Narrowness of possibilities, humiliation, losses! There was a way made out, unexpected, unforeseen, “where he doesn’t have to wish it from.” With sustenance, not livelihood in currency as rizq is most often translated, but sustenance, emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, not for one individual in question but the entire family.
For whom? The one who was in a state of consciousness of Subhanahu and who was mindful of the rights of others. The one who was watchful that His Displeasure and His Wrath did not reach him because of crossing boundaries set by Him.
Like the displeasure and wrath of my Master had reached me.
There was a time I used to pride myself on a relationship with my Lord that didn’t have fear in it. But two years ago, whilst writing a piece for the Urs Mubarik of Maulana Rum (ra), I had felt intense fear. I had been translating stories from the Masnavi and one of them had been about the Day of Judgement and how each person would have to fend for themselves. I had come across one of the verses alluding to that reality recently.
وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةࣱ وِزۡرَ أُخۡرَىٰۚ وَإِن تَدۡعُ مُثۡقَلَةٌ إِلَىٰ حِمۡلِهَا لَا یُحۡمَلۡ مِنۡهُ شَیۡءࣱ وَلَوۡ كَانَ ذَا قُرۡبَىٰۤۗ
إِنَّمَا تُنذِرُ ٱلَّذِینَ یَخۡشَوۡنَ رَبَّهُم بِٱلۡغَیۡبِ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَۚ وَمَن تَزَكَّىٰ فَإِنَّمَا یَتَزَكَّىٰ لِنَفۡسِهِۦۚ
وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلۡمَصِیرُ
And no bearer will bear burdens (of) another.
And if a call heavily laden (soul) calls another to (carry) its load, nothing will be carried of it anything even if he be (from) near of kin.
You can only warn those who are conscious of their Lord - unseen and who establish the prayer.
And whoever purifies himself, then only he purifies for his own self.
And to Allah (is) the destination.
Surah Fatir, Verse 18
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And after that you recognized the Qudra, Authority, of Allah and you heard of the perfection of His Being in no need of anything, so for all of you is compulsory, the executing of His Commands and staying away from what He has forbidden because…
La taziru: no nafs, self, will, bear …
Waaziratu-n: as the bearer of burdens for being sinful, resisting authority…
Wizra: the burden (of) a wrong action of the nafs, self, that is indisciplined…
Ukhra wa in tad’u: of another and if any nafs, soul, asks…
Musqalatu-n: heavily laden by burdens and resisting authority…
Ila himliha: to share its burden i.e. someone else carry some of the burdens received by it to lessen them…
La yuhmal minhu shay-an: he will not carry any thing from another’s burden even if he consents to carry the burden because it is the demand of Allah’s Justice…
Wa lau kana: And if the person who was called to carry the burden…
Da qurba: is the family i.e. from the family of the asker, still all of the selves on that Day pledged (to carry) what they earned from their resistance. Each nafs will carry for its own self and no accountability will be for it except what it earned.
Then said Subhanahu addressing His Beloved (sending salutations and greetings upon him and his family the whole while) in the matters of His Servants:
Innama tundiru alladina yakhshauna Rabba-hum bil ghaib: only will you warn those who surrender to their Lord Unseen: meaning they are not beneficial, your warnings, which you recite O Akmal Ar Rusul, O Messenger who perfects Messenger-hood (salutations and greetings upon you and your family are sent by Him who made you the Nazeer) upon those wayward, with the exception of the group who are fearful of Allah and His Wrath and His Punishment, even though He is unseen for them, hearing Him, in submission to what has descended from Him, fearful of what can come from Him suddenly…
Wa: and along with that…
Aqaamus salata: they established prayer commanded, bringing closeness for them to His Essence, Al Mukhlisoona, sincere in it, Al Muttaharreena, purifying their selves from the inclination of everything except Allah Al Haqq, The Only Truth.
Wa man tazakka: And the one who purified himself and he cleansed his self from the leaning towards the capacity to invent a deceitful practice and whims…
Fa innama yatazakka li nafsihi: so indeed he only purified his nafs for his own self because the benefit of his purification returned to him, beneficial for him in his beginning and his end.
Wa: And after his purification from the demands of being human and the demands of animalistic desires which block from reaching of the origin of his nature…
Ilallahi: towards Allah, Al Munazza, The One Above all shortcomings, Al Mubarra’, The One Above all things lowly…
Al Maseer-u: (who is) The Destination i.e. Al Munqallab, the place returned to and the final abode i.e. everything returns towards Him and everyone’s purpose is Him, Subhanahu.
I was reminded of the exaltedness of the Chosen before Allah by the word Al Muttaharreena, the ones pure. How everyone had to purify themselves. Only one group was purified by Subhanahu Himself. That was the family of His Beloved (salutations and greetings upon him and his kin who were rendered void of any shortcoming at all).
The Name of Allah Subhanahu that Ghaus Pak (ra) used to begin the tafseer was an absolute favourite. I loved using it when calling out to Him in my prayers. It made no other words to follow the call even necessary. He was Al Musleh, The Reformer!
إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ ٱلرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًۭا
Indeed, Allah wishes to remove from you the impurity, (O) People (of) the House!
And to purify you (with thorough) purification.
Surah al Ahzab, Verse 33
Tafseer e Jilani
Innama yureedullahu: Indeed Allah Al Musleh, The Reformer of the states of His Worshipper, wishes for those who are chosen by Him, teaching them such advice and reminders which enter the heart and giving them warnings strange, unlike any other…
Liyudhiba ankum ar-rijsa: removing impurities from you, unattractive, loathsome by both the mind and by Jurisprudence (which can be in contradiction to one another), O…
Ahl e Bait: the people of the house of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), Al Majbooleen, who are raised upon honour and nobility..
Wa yutahhirakum: (and it is also His Will) to make you absolutely pure from the dirt of one’s nature and things that are hateful imperfections that exist from the beginning (from birth like the Shaitaan attached to each person), which are hurdles in the cleansing of personal nature (for e.g. menstruation or emissions)…
Tat-hirah: (to make you, O family of the Beloved, absolutely pure) in absolute purity. Such purity that nothing remains in you, any doubt of disfigurement and the disgrace of any shortcoming.
The verse of each person having to bear the consequences of their own actions had made me reflect on all the parallels I was drawing after Damascus of what I had thought was for that Day but seemed to exist and play out in our lives here. The nafs experiencing being Mutma’inna was the greatest of them all.
But no one could carry anyone’s burden in this world either.
Parents want to take on their child’s disease. Children want to give happiness to parents whose bitterness tells them that they will never come to possess it again. I have often wanted to give of the sight of one of my eyes to a cousin who lost it in both.
My nafs would ask me things like, “We won’t be able to drive again.”
I would consider it and say, “It’s ok. We don’t drive that much anyway.”
So on and so forth it goes. But it was not impossible. Each nafs had to pay the price for each decision in this world as well. Bear its consequence. Asking for forgiveness though, feeling repentant, held in it the promise of being forgiven. That existed for a relationship worldly or with Subhanahu. If it was sincere!
فَمَن تَابَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ظُلْمِهِۦ وَأَصْلَحَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِ ۗ
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ
But whoever repented from after his wrongdoing and reforms, then indeed,
Allah will turn in forgiveness to him. Indeed, Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Surah Al Maidah, Verse 39
Tafseer e Jilani:
Faman ta’aba: So the one who repents and returns towards Allah mukhlis-an, sincere (in heart), khai’ifan, in fear (of reckoning)…
Min ba’ada dulmihi: after he transgressed boundaries set by Him …
Wa aslaha: and reformed themselves with repentance (by returning towards Allah with sincerity) for the corruption that they have brought upon their own nafs (self) by disobeying Allah’s Orders.
Fa innallaha: Indeed, Allah is Al Musleh, The Reformer of all states of His Servant.
Yatubu alaihi: And Allah also turns towards Him and accepts his tauba, repentance, after giving him the ability for that repentance.
Innallaha: Without doubt, Allah is the One who is Al Muyassir, the One who gives ease in all matter for His Servants…
Ghafur an: He is the Forgiver of all their sins.
The identity of the one repenting, Ta’ib, was defined specifically:
Faman ta’aba: So the one who repents and returns towards Allah sincere (in heart), in fear (of reckoning)…
Fear was requisite.
The Necessity of Fear
وَءَاخَرُونَ ٱعْتَرَفُوا۟ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ خَلَطُوا۟ عَمَلًۭا صَلِحًۭا وَءَاخَرَ سَيِّئًا عَسَى ٱللَّهُ أَن يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ
And others who have acknowledged their sins.
They had mixed a deed righteous (with) other (that was) evil.
Perhaps Allah will turn (in mercy) to them.
Indeed, Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Surah At Tauba, Verse 102
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And the people of Medina…
Aakharoona: others, not from the ones who were Al
Munafiqoona, persistent upon hypocrisy, Al Muttarraneena, and who practice it, but instead…
A’tarifu bi dhunobihim: acknowledge their sins which happened from them from mukhalifa, being against (someone) and bughz, grudges, and ta’an, being accusatory and
istikhfaaf, showing disregard and gheebat, back-biting, when sitting alone with the hypocrites and the ones who practice hypocricy.
And while they have the appearance of imaan, faith, and ikhlas, sincerity, but they…
Khalatu amalan salihan: mixed good deeds from ikhlas, sincerity and raza, seeking the pleasure of Allah and tasleem, submission…
Wa: and deeds…
Aakhara sayyan: others which were bad and those deeds were done while in the community of the hypocrites in their discourse and being accusatory. For this reason they are downgraded from the rank of the Mukhliseen, Sincere, in all their circumstances.
Asallaho an yatooba alayhim: And Allah will most likely accept their repentance i.e. He gives them ability upon tauba, repentance and nidama, regret and accepts from them their repentance after they become sincere in it.
Innallaha: Indeed, Allah Al Musleh, The One who corrects the states of His Servants…
Ghafooran: is Forgiving of the one who repents and regrets from the core of the qalb, the Station of Recognition of Allah in the heart…
Rahim: is The One who accepts their repentance when they are excessive (trangressors).
In writing that piece for Maulana’s Urs Mubarik I had been crying too. That crying was out of fear for a time yet to come. It was the first time I had learnt the purpose of fear in a relationship with my Lord. It was deemed essential for a believer. In that relationship fear was an element that was necessary for it to reach completion.
Verses attesting to that had appeared again and again.
The way out with an all encompassing rizq from the Divine was promised for whom? The one who was in a state of consciousness of Subhanahu and who was mindful of the rights of others. The one who was watchful that His Displeasure and His Wrath did not reach him because of crossing boundaries set by Him.
The Message could only be received by those “who are fearful of Allah and His Wrath and His Punishment, even though He is unseen for them, hearing Him, in submission to what has descended from Him, fearful of what can come from Him suddenly…”
Suddenly I understood why all those hours and days and weeks, months and years I spent trying to tell the ones I loved what might save them from pain were a waste of time. Theirs as well as mine. At the end of the day they never really cared if I might become angry with them or not. It never mattered. When it did, they always listened. When it didn’t that’s when they took me for granted.
Like I, God forbid, had been taking my Creator and His Benevelonce for granted. Astaghfirullah!
After the tafseer I returned to the page to re-read the next part which I had couldn’t focus on before. The incident of the fire was about the Prophet Ibrahim (as). How it was ordered to change its intrinsic nature and become cool for him by Divine Command. It was an incident only about him and for him. Not anyone else and certainly not the ordinary.
“…before the trial then, when you are dropped into the fire of the distress that causes suffering, He will order,
یَـٰنَارُ كُونِی بَرۡدࣰا وَسَلَـٰمًا
O fire! Be coolness and safety.
I had done the tafseer from before so I looked it up.
Tafseer e Jilani
Ya Naaro: O Fire, created on the nature of burning and heat…
Kooni bardan: become cool and leave your burning and heat…
Wa: and don’t harm Our Friend by your coolness as well but instead become…
Salaman: safety i.e. a glad reception and peaceful for him and don’t harm him.
How did that come to happen? If
1.I was a Muttaqi, the one who is mindful and conscious of their Rabb, who raised them, Azzo Jal,
2.I was sincere in my Zikr because it came from the heart. Not the mind and not the tongue.
3.I was Muwwahidan, in union only with Him forgetting the others,
4.Musheeran, pointing towards Him, feeling that nearness because I was aware that I was always being seen by Him,
5.then BEFORE the trial, when I was dropped into the fire of the distress that causes suffering, He would order for me,
یَـٰنَارُ كُونِی بَرۡدࣰا وَسَلَـٰمًا
O fire! Be coolness and safety.
It was unbelievable!
Shaitaan has endless tactics. Ways to enter lives and ruin then. His favourite tactic though is causing ghaflat.
Forgetfulness of obeying Divine Commands, forgetfulness of crossing boundaries in the rights of others, forgetfulness of Allah’s remembrance.
Fa ansaahum dikr Allah: so he made them forget the remembrance of Allah, Al Munqad, The Only Deliverer from deviation from the straight path, Al Murshid, The Only Guide towards guidance.
Hence ghaflat was the deadliest weapon. It naturally created the absence of repentance. That show of remorse was his worst nightmare because he possesses intimate knowledge of the Essence of Subhanahu. He knew what repentance could deliver when expressed with sincerity.
The incident from the Masnavi I had translated for that piece was about the waking of Hazrat Amir Muawia (ratu) by Iblis to say his prayers:
“Hazrat Amir Muawia (ratu) was asleep one day when he was awakened by someone. When he looked around he saw no one. Then he noticed a man skulking behind the door. He asked, “Who are you?” The man replied, “The world knows me. I am unfortunate Iblis.”
Hazrat Amir Muawia (ratu) asked him sternly, “Why have you woken me?” He responded, “The time for prayer is about to pass, O Amir.”
Then he quoted the Prophet of God (salutations and greetings be upon the one most distinguished in the blessings of Allah and his beloved family),
عجلوا ألطاعات قبل الفوت
Complete your worship before it (its time) expires.
You should run to the mosque before you miss it.”
Hazrat Amir Muawia (ratu) retorted, “You can never want such a thing so as to guide someone. You came in like a thief and now you tell me you are a well-wisher? Why would I believe a thief and then one who claims he wants to benefit me?”
Here Iblis uttered the words revealing his envy:
‘Once I was ranked amongst the angels and walked the path of obedience willingly. I was the knower of Divine Secrets and a companion of the ones who lived near Allah’s Throne. As travelers roam wherever they might go, the love of the homeland never leaves them. Who has ever forgotten their first love?
I have also drunk the waters from the rivers of The Divine’s Blessings and I have also walked in the Gardens of His Pleasure. He placed His Affection upon me as well, looked upon me with Favour. When I was a child, who fed me and guided me? He did.
Once I too was a lover of His Entity and Essence. If then that mighty Ocean of His Generosity rejected me, so what? When the heart is separated from what it once loved, then it learns to value the days where there was union.’
تا دهد جان را فراقش گوشمال
جان بداند قدر ايام وصال
When the separation from Him softly offers reproach,
then one is nostalgic for days passed.
Whether it was “kufr,” refusal or whether it was “imaan,” believing, both were made by that Power and both belong to Him.”
Hazrat Amir Muawaia (ratu) remained unmoved. “What you say is true but you have no part in it anymore. You misguided countless before me. You are fire, yet you expect me to believe you will not burn me? Who has not been deceived by you? Because of your cunning, the nation of Nuh (as) is still burning in regret. You caused the destruction of the nation of A’ad, drowning them in punishment and grief. The people of Lut (as) were stoned because of you.
You have created countless trials for Mankind. Firaoun, the philosopher, scholarly, his powers to reflect were blinded by you. Abu Lahab became ignorant because of you. Abul Hikm was rendered Abu Jahal because of you. You are the ocean of deceit, people but a drop. Answer truthfully. Why would you wake me to pray?”
Iblis replied, “Oh man of despair! You do not accept the truth despite a 100 arguments. My fault is only that one bad deed has made me renowned for sinfulness. The truth is that if you had missed your prayer, nothing of the world would have remained of value before your eyes. Tears of pain and loss would have been shed. This crying, this softness of the heart, this intense pain and sadness, would have become the reward of a 100 prayers. I did not want you to let out the sigh that would gain you the deep appreciation of Allah.
Remember the man who arrived at the Mosque late and was told by the congregation leaving it that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family by their Lord who gazes upon them) had already said the last “salam.”
The young man sighed so deeply, the sound of it shook the listeners’ hearts.
One of them said, ‘Give me your sigh and take the blessing of my prayer.’
The man accepted his namaz and presented his sigh to me in turn. The sigh was filled with such humility and submission, the one who traded his prayer for it attained a higher rank and more.
A voice of the Unseen said to him in a dream, ‘In your trade, you have received the best of life, so rejoice!’
Your fear, O Amir, of The Divine and my envy are the reason I woke you. I woke you from the fear that your cries of repentance would burn me with jealousy. I am the envier of Mankind. I can never want anything good for them. In this envy I did what I did. I am the enemy of humans. How can I want that any benefit comes to them?”
Hazrat Amir Muawia (ratu) listened to his words then said to Iblis, “Now you have told the truth, O thief. In reality, you do not want that I humbly plead before my Lord with sincerity, that I weep tears of regret and repentance because the rank of that sighing and distress is more dear to Allah than anything else.”
ﮐﮧ ﺑﺮﺍﺑﺮ می ﮐﻨﺪ ﺷﺎﮦ ﻣﺠﯿﺪ
ﺍﺷﮏ ﺭﺍ ﺩﺭ ﻭﺯﻥ ﺑﺎ ﺧﻮﻥ ﺷﮩﯿﺪ
In equal regard holds The Almighty,
the tears of the sinner, the repentant, and the blood of the martyr.
Subhan Allah! The story was exquisitely narrated by Maulana (ra). Was it any wonder that the Masnavi was given the honour of being called the Quran in Farsi.
Shaitaan knows what Subhanahu’s Exalted Name Al Ghafoor encompasses. That His Mercy prevails over everything else. So he’s worried that the expression of regret, if it is sincere, might yield a person instant forgiveness. Of not one sin but all of them in one go!
Bishar Haafi (ra) was the most extraordinary example of that:
Hazrat Bishr Haafi (ra) spent most of his life drinking alcohol and roaming the streets in a state of intoxication. He belonged to a very wealthy family and lived alone. Twice, sometimes thrice a day, he changed his clothes, each garment finer than the next.
One day upon reaching his house he came upon a piece of paper lying on the road. It had the words Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim written on it. When he saw his Lord’s Name thrown on the ground like that he started weeping. Then he picked up the paper, kissed it, put some itar (perfume) on it and placed it on a high spot.
That night he heard the voice of Allah Al-Afuww, The Supreme Pardoner, asking him, was he not tired yet of being so distant from Him. And just like that, overnight, he became a wali (saint). He left his all of his wealth and roamed the streets barefoot. That is how he got his title, Haafi, the one who walks barefoot.
He was one of the few people for whom Imam Hanbal (ra) rose from his seat to greet when he entered and one of the only he walked with out to the street when he left.
When asked why he treated a faqeer, one who had given up the world and its possessions for poverty and worship, with such honour, Imam Hanbal (ra) replied, ““Jiss Rab ko mein maanta hun, Bishr Haafi uss Rab to jaante hain – the Lord that I merely believe in, Bishr Haafi knows that Lord.”
Subhan Allah!
Shaitaan takes pride in the destruction of Man, declaring it often in the Quran. He thinks he’s fulfilling his promise, keeping his word. One of those is his announcing that he will take a share of everything a Servant of God is bestowed.
Before I read the verse, I thought that was in the context of worldly possessions. Taking control of their possessions to fulfill his general mission to destroy Mankind. The usual ways of doing it via the mechanics inherent in capitalism, endless dictatorships and such. I had written about those extensively because it played out all the time. How it guaranteed his success.
But Ghaus Pak (ra) explained it differently.
لَّعَنَهُ ٱللَّهُۘ وَقَالَ لَأَتَّخِذَنَّ مِنۡ عِبَادِكَ نَصِیبࣰا مَّفۡرُوضࣰا
Allah cursed him and he said, "I will surely take from Your Slaves a portion appointed."
Surah An Nisa, Verse 118
Tafseer e Jilani
And how can we worship him and call him and indeed…
La’anaullahu: cursed Him Allah Subhanahu and expelled him from the Honour of His Presence and made him leave from (the list) of His Sincere Worshippers for the sake of deceiving the worshippers for the purpose of shirrk, associating others with Allah, and tughyan, oppression…
Wa: and after that he became hopeless of Allah’s Clemency and in despair of His Mercy…
Qala la’attakhidanna min ibadika: he said, “I will surely take from Your Servants, the ones because of whom you expelled me and because of whom you made me distant (from You)…
Naseeban: a portion, a share complete from what You made for him…
Mafroudan: appointed for them from Your Tauheed, Your One-ness, and honouring You by deluding them and deceiving them so that they commit shirrk (hoping and expecting from others except You) and associate others with You and say about You what is inappropriate for Your Majesty till they will fall by this from the binding of Your Safekeeping and Your Guardianship and become deserving of Your Displeasure and Your Anger.
The Displeasure and Anger would be coming one way or the other. It could be felt willingly or one would be made to feel it. Either way, it was unavoidable!
In each tafseer I was noticing what caused Allah Subhanahu’s Anger and Displeasure. Shaitaan had robbed me of my share for my entire life. I would have remained in that robbed state performing rote rituals even if some of them were above what was obligatory. I would have remained a Mushrik till my dying day had my Master not intervened in the manner that he did.
Ghaus Pak (ra) was the perfect manifestation of the undeniable truth that ends Surah Fatiha. Only following in the footsteps of the ones bestowed inaam, Divine Favours, was the path of least resistance. Least humiliation. Least agony.
For as I shockingly learnt from the Quran, even the infidels of Mecca who were proud of being Mushrikeen, it was their inherited tradition, believed in Subhanahu. After Him they worshipped those self-created idols of clay that they adorned the Ka’aba with.
Even they, when asked, who made these heavens and the earth, replied, “Allah.”
وَلَىِٕن سَأَلۡتَهُم مَّنۡ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ لَیَقُولُنَّ ٱللَّهُۚ
And if you ask them who created the heavens and the earth? Surely, they will say, "Allah." Say, "Then do you see what you invoke from besides Allah?
Surah Az-Zumar, Verse 38
Tafseer e Jilani
Then pointed Subhanahu towards elaborating on His Tauheed, Divine One-ness, indicating to the Mushrikeen, the ones who associate others with Him, registering their state of beguile and allurement and being foolish, so He said, addressing His Beloved (upon whom and whose family He sends greetings and salutations continuously):
Wa la’in sa’altahum: And if you ask them, O Akmal Ar Rusul, Messenger who perfects the Messengerhood (Allah sends greetings and salutations upon you and your family since always), the disbelievers of the Quresh…
Man khalaqas samawaati wal ard: who created the Heavens and the Earth i.e. the highest in creation and the lowest in creation and what is between them from their mixing and who has brought them into existence and who has constructed in them and who has made to appear what is in them from the natural wonders and peculiarities…
Layaqoolunna: so they say, for sure…
Allah: Al Muttafarrid, The Only One who creates and invents, Al Muttwaahid, The One All Alone in His being worshipped and His being The Sustainer, because they have no power to turn away from this answer with their backs.
Ghaus Pak (ra) too was displeased and angry with me. But only out of his love for His Lord. That was the way of His Friends. They only loved because of Him. They only had enemity because of Him. I was deserving of that wrath upon me. In hindsight I was fortunate that it came.
In a single page he had expressed his irritation, reprimanded me, then taught me a prayer that brought me before my Lord in utmost repentance and showed me how even suffering ordained could morph into the opposite, become a blessing.
Thus I began to see how the barzakh, that partition of the Divine’s Mercy, began to take form in my life.
In Lahore it was part of my daily routine to visit an elderly friend who had been unwell for years. There were good days and bad but as a result of ever increasing illnesses that brought with them acute pain, more and more they would be in the worst mood possible.
But they too had a Spiritual Master. So every so often, he would step in and lift them out of the bitterness they were drowning in. Like a breather to remind them of who they were and not who they had become. Then they would be let go again and sink. That was how it was playing out for now.
The Spiritual Master is the Arif. Since Ghaus Pak (ra) says that they can see destiny ordained, they decide when to step in, for how long and when to retreat to let the disciple’s journey play out. But they are always there, keeping their eye on those who are in their charge, looking into their hearts to see how rusted they have become.
Each day I entered the house not knowing what mood awaited me. Mostly I was greeted with intense sarcasm, mistrust which manifested in a poisonous tongue resulting in complete humiliation. Sometimes I was alone in the room, other times people were present who ignored the incidence. I always wondered why they were silent. I was about to find out.
I had been reciting the prayer gifted to me by Ghaus Pak (ra). Then I was uttering it as my own repentance but like all prayers, there were branches of other Divine Mercies emanating from it. A day or two later, I entered the room expecting a thrashing. We happened to be sitting right next to each other. It was early in the day. She was being served breakfast.
All I had said thus far was “How did you sleep?”
In response came a fire of reproaches. How I could not be relied upon. I was insincere. Selfish. And so on. On every other occasion, no exceptions, I would attempt to exercise patience as I had learnt it. Silent in the tongue, begrudging in the heart, angry in the mind. Even that didn’t always work. Sometimes I would lose it and say something curt, leaving earlier than I would otherwise. Only to be extremely disappointed in my failure of restraint, beating myself up about it before I even reached my car to head home.
On that day, as we sat so close to each other that our thighs almost touched, I listened to the sharpness of the words that normally sliced through my heart with a calm I had never experienced before. It was so eerie that I just sat there making sure what I was feeling was in fact real. I felt like they were speaking to someone else in the room. But there was no one else.
I focused on my heart. Did it feel a grudge, sorry for itself for being attacked without provocation? It didn’t. I honed in on my mind. Was it angry or rolling its eyes thinking, “Here we go again.” It wasn’t. There was a partition between us. The barzakh I had pleaded for with my weeping had appeared.
It was so unexpectedly crazy it felt like magic!
The truth, as it turned out, was that everyone followed Iblis. The believers, the non-believers. The grateful, the ungrateful. He turns each Mo’min into a Kafir. At some point or the other, everyone was taken in by his seduction. No one’s nafs was spared.
Except for one group!
وَلَقَدۡ صَدَّقَ عَلَیۡهِمۡ إِبۡلِیسُ ظَنَّهُۥ فَٱتَّبَعُوهُ إِلَّا فَرِیقࣰا مِّنَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ
And certainly, Iblis found his assumption about them to be true, so they (all) followed him except a group of the believers.
Surah As Saba, Verse 20
Tafseer e Jilani
Then said Subhanahu taking an oath…
Wa: upon Himself…
Laqad saddaqa: indeed he, Iblis, authenticated…
Alayhim: upon those, Al Haalikeen, the ones who destroy themselves in the maze of khusraan, losses and kufraan, denial and ingratitude…
Iblis: the enemy for them, persistent, permanent in enemity with them from the beginning of their creation…
Dannahu: his belief, which was what he thought to be true for them when he said to their father, the Prophet Adam (as),
لَأَحۡتَنِكَنَّ ذُرِّیَّتَهُۥۤ إِلَّا قَلِیلࣰ
I will surely destroy his offspring except a few – Al Isra, 62
Tafseer e Jilani
La ahtanikanna durriyaatahu: Iblis said: I will make them wayward and trap them with vulgarity and by alluring them to do something wrong so that I can erase their names from the book of believers. So how can they become of the Arifeen, the ones who recognize Allah and the Al Mukaashifeen, for whom everything unveils, Al Mushahideen, the witnessing ones because what they are made from and their foundation, it demands different kinds of corruption and various kinds of sin and waywardness.
And for me there are many opportunities (through these demands) to create paranoia for them and allure them till they become misguided from the straight path of guidance and the way of correctness…
Illa qaleela: except a few amongst them for indeed they are Sabitoon, steadfast on what they are set up on. I have no power to persuade them towards wrongdoing because they are Muwwayadeen, assisted by You and they are Muwwafiqeen, granted ability by Your Power.
And he said:
وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَكِرِينَ
And you will not find most of them to be grateful - Surah Al Araaf, Verse 17
Tafseer e Jilani
La tajidu: You will not find, Ya Muizzu, O You who is The Bestower of Honour to everybody else in in humiliation and The One directing the astray to the Right Path…
Aksarahim Shakireen: most of them to be grateful when they will return towards You, they will be not be the grateful ones, spending from what You bestowed them of blessings on what You commanded them not to do.
And he said:
وَلَأُضِلَّنَّهُمۡ وَلَأُمَنِّیَنَّهُمۡ
And I will surely deceive them and surely arouse desires in them – An Nisa, Verse 119
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa laudillanahum: And I will surely deceive them by different deceptions and whisperings of doubt and paranoia from the Way of Your Tauheed, One-ness…
Wa layumanniannahum: and I will arouse desires in them by their concerns with their livelihood in this place of deception (the world) with hirs, greed and tool al amal, never ending hopes and all types of desires of their nafs, their egos, which arise from lust and (seeking of) pleasure and much else apart from this. And after that he misguided them from the path of
Shukr, Gratitude and Imaan, faith…
Fattaba’uhu: they followed him, ungrateful and denying of the blessings and Al Munim, the Bestower of those Blessings, all of them…
Illa fareeqan min al Mo’mineen: except a group from the
Mo’mineen, the believers, Al Mu’qineena, possessing certainy in the Tauheed, the One-ness of Allah, Al Musaddeqeena, attesting to His Prophets, Al Muttadakkireena, taking warning that he is their enemy forever, so they turned back from him and from his persuasion by deception, thus they remained Saalimeen, secure, from his persuasion to deceive.
No wonder a connection to that group was deemed essential to receive guidance. They were in a count, set apart from everyone else in Creation. They were the ones who were “an’amta alayhim.”
The inordinate focus on the prayer from Ghaus Pak (ra) brought my attention to the verses expounding on the etiquettes of the prayer in the Quran. I looked them up:
ٱدۡعُوا۟ رَبَّكُمۡ تَضَرُّعࣰا وَخُفۡیَةًۚ
إِنَّهُۥ لَا یُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُعۡتَدِینَ
Call upon your Lord humbly and privately.
Indeed, He (does) not love the transgressors.
Surah Al Araaf, Verse 55
Tafseer e Jilani
Udu’u: Call upon Him, those who have been set up on the true nature of Tauheed, One-ness…
Rabbukum: your Rabb, Al Mutafarraq, The One who is Unique in your raising and in making you appear…
Tadarru’an: (call upon Him) humbly as the ones who beseech Him…
Wa khufiatan: and quietly, as the ones hiding and the ones scared, and the ones submissive from the depths of the heart, not unstable in the edges of the tongue like the transgressors.
Innahu la yuhibbil Mu’tadeena: Indeed, He does not like the ones who cross the boundaries of what is right, the Al Mujawizeena, the ones who exceed limits, the Al Mujahireena, the ones who ask for things loudly, Al Maalliheena, the ones who ask for wrong things in their prayer because His Knowledge of their states is enough regarding their asking.
It was new word for me. Mu’tadeena! I knew already Subhanahu did not like the Kafireen, the deniers of truth. He did not like the Zalimeen, the unjust, the ones who crossed limits. He did not like the Faisqeen, those defiant in their disobedience. The Mu’tadeen were also transgressors. Overtly they seemed the same as the Kafireen.
Except in the tafseer, everything about them seemed to be related to those of us who were on the inside of the circle of Islam. For we the ones who were praying to Subhanahu. Except we were asking for things loudly. We were asking for things wrongly. We did not deny Subhanahu. We deluded ourselves that we were aspiring to be of the Mo’mineen, the believers. We didn’t even know we had become aligned with the disbelievers. Like them we were not scared of Him.
The most exalted of prayers in the Quran are the ones Allah Subhanahu Himself taught His Beloved (salutations and greetings upon him and his blessed family and the utterance that came forth from them that lead the way to our salvation). It was as if He said to him, “Ask from me this and ask it like this.”
One of those prayers then appeared that seemed to be exactly for such a situation. For if one was being rendered a transgressor whilst in prayer, then clearly refuge was in need from Shaitaan who was prevailing in exactly that moment. A moment that one thought was intensely private and only between them and their Lord.
وَقُل رَّبِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنۡ هَمَزَتِ ٱلشَّیَـٰطِینِ
And say, "My Lord! I seek refuge in You from the suggestions (of) the evil ones,
وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ رَبِّ أَن یَحۡضُرُونِ
And I seek refuge in You, My Lord! Lest they be present with me."
Surah Al Mu’minoon, Verse 97-98
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa qul Rabbi: So say, “O Lord who raises me by Your Kunf, Safekeeping and Jawaar, Watchfulness…
Audo bika min hamazaati Shayateen: I seek refuge in You from the promptings of the evil ones and their waswase, whisperings and the different kinds of seductions and
misleading.
Wa: And especially…
Aoudo: I seek protection and come into refuge…
Bika: with You, O…
Rabbi Ayyahdiroon: my Lord, lest they come near me and let my focus be upon You and when my heart is soft in its inclination towards You and I invoke You, especially during my prayer and during my recitation and during the time I present my needs to You.
It revealed to me why the recitation of the namaz, why the recitation of the Quran, all worship was made to begin with seeking of refuge from Shaitaan and his followers.
فَإِذَا قَرَأۡتَ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ فَٱسۡتَعِذۡ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّیۡطَـٰنِ ٱلرَّجِیمِ
So when you recite the Quran, seek refuge in Allah from the Shaitaan, the accursed.
Surah An Nahl, Verse 98
Fasta’id: then seek refuge and invoke, first of all…
Billahi: Allah, Al Mutajalli, The One who unveils, by the attribute of speech, which makes others helpless before it, Al Hafeed, The Protector of His Sincere Servants from everything in useless sins and disobedience…
Min: (which occur) due to doubts and paranoia…
Ash Shaitaan ar rajeem: from Shaitaan the accursed one, Al Matrood, the one expelled and the one made distant from the court of the Presence of Allah Azzo Jal with the stoning of the effects of the Attributes of Allah’s Wrath and (seek refuge) from his delusions and rationalizations which are the armies of desire and forgetfulness and false imaginings and thrilling hallucinations which persuade different kinds of hopes and lust.
Basically possibilities!
Yet another revelation that came to me through the prayer Ya Haailo had to with the virtue of patience.
قُلۡ یَـٰعِبَادِ ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ رَبَّكُمۡۚ لِلَّذِینَ أَحۡسَنُوا۟ فِی هَـٰذِهِ ٱلدُّنۡیَا حَسَنَةࣱۗ
إِنَّمَا یُوَفَّى ٱلصَّـٰبِرُونَ أَجۡرَهُم بِغَیۡرِ حِسَابࣲ
Say, "O My slaves those who believe!
Be mindful of your Lord. For those who do good in this world is good,
Only will be paid back in full the patient ones their reward without account."
Surah Az Zumar, Verse 10
Tafseer e Jilani
Qul: Say, Ya Akmal Ar Rusul (Allah sends blessings and salutations upon you since the beginning of everything), O Messenger who completes the Messenger-hood, give this message on Our Behalf, calling out to the selected sincere amongst my Servants…
Ya ibadi: O My Worshippers, by attaching them with His Essence making them special and honouring them…
Alladina aamano: those who attained to faith from amongst you in the One-ness of My Essence and My Appearance according to My Affairs and My Ever changing-ness in accordance with My Names and Attributes, the requirement of your faith is taqwa, mindfulness from the demands of your desires…
Ittaqu Rabbukum: be conscious of your Lord and stay away from what is forbidden by Him and what He has ordered prevented for you and characterize yourself with His Commands and know that He…
Lilladina ahsanu: for the ones with spiritual excellence and beautiful regard with Allah…
Fi hadihi duniya: in this world, which is the place of gaining lessons and choosing…
Hasana: there is goodness, multifold and more than a thousand times more than that in the Hereafter which is the Dar al Qarar, the abode which is forever so take heed, O people of vision, both inner and outer.
…
Innama yuwaffa as sabiroon: Only the steadfast are given in full as the Al Mutahammiloona, the ones who carry their burdens with the different kinds of difficulties and toiling with patience in the practice of Imaan, faith…
Ajrahum: their reward and in abundance upon them will be goodness and different kinds of recompenses and honours…
Bighairi hisaab: without count, for all of it and exceeding it, with no possibility of measure and enumeration and without any number, merely by His Bounty for them and His Honour upon them.
My way of practicing it was about to change.
Continued on: www.flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/52649820039/in/datepos...
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Translated from the Arabic, the exegesis of 55 Verses from the Tafseer e Jilani by the Saint of Saints, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (ra),
the Master of all Spiritual Masters.
The Night of Ascension
From Al Yawaqeet Wal Jawahir by Imam Abdul Wahab Shuhrani (ra);
The Journey of Ascension from Sidrat ul Muntaha to the meeting with Allah is the climax of the travels that night. From this point on a new state comes about. Before him was a Realm of Nur, Divine Light, which were revealed everywhere. The manifestations of Allah’s Attributes and Essence had made alight the Realm of the Unseen. The guest of the Throne, the Mercy of the Universe (peace be upon him), Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) was made to enter this Realm alone.
First, one by one, he was made to pass through each of the veils of Allah’s Names and with each passing, he was soaked in the essence of each Name. In a state of wakefulness, as he absorbed the quality of each name, Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) felt slightly dazed as one might expect to feel in a moment of aloneness.
As soon as this state came upon his blessed heart, he heard a voice;
قف یا محمد ان ربک یصلی
“Stop O Muhammad (peace be upon you)! Indeed, your Lord will approach you (to welcome you).”
The Journey of Ascension up to this moment was a journey of love and honour. From this point onwards began the the journey of union. This is where the guest of the Throne reached Qaba Qausayn;
1. and 2.
ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّىٰ
Then he approached and He came down.
فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰ
Until He was at a distance of two bow-lengths away or nearer.
Surah An-Najm, Verse 8-9
Tafseer e Jilani:
Summa dana: Then he, Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him), went nearer to His Lord…
Fatadalla: And He, Allah, came towards him with an inseparable attachment through love, the type of attachment being like an embrace, such that…
Fakana: it became, that nearness …
Qaba Qausayn: like the distance between two bows, which were the bows of Al Wujoob, The One who is since forever and Al Imkaan, the one who exists because of Him, both preserving the dignity of being The Worshipped and the worshipper.
Au adna: Or even less than that (distance of two bows) because the Nasoot, all things that have to do with the world, of Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) became fana, dissolved, in the Lahoot, the Realm of Nur, Divine Light. And after that whatever happened to the person of Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) is whatever happened, or however close he came, he came (no one knows).
Qari Sahib: Note two things; First the verse plays out the Hadith Qudsi, “When a person walks towards me, I run towards them.” Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) approached, Allah came nearer. Two and most magnificent of all, the words in the Quran are not the same for to show that approach towards each other. For the Prophet (peace be upon him), it is dana – coming close. For Allah it is tadallah, which Ghaus Pak (ra) is translating as ta’allaqa – an inseparable attachment through love.
Hence it was revealed;
3.
فَأَوْحَىٰٓ إِلَىٰ عَبْدِهِۦ مَآ أَوْحَىٰ
So He (Allah) revealed to His Servant what He revealed.
Surah An-Najm, Verse 10
Tafseer e Jilani
Fa auha: So He, Allah Glory is to Him, revealed and inspired directly upon the heart…
Ila abdi hi: of His Servant, as The One who is closer to His Beloved that his own nafs, self.
Ma auha: what He revealed from Divine Recognition and Realities and unveilings and witnessing, poured upon him from His Own Self, Glory is to Him. All of which was pure from the methods of (hearing and seeing) for a human being in the world. So he (peace be upon him) saw what he saw and Allah Subhan Ta’ala unveiled what He unveiled.
Subhan Allah!
Al Yawaqeet Wal Jawahir: The point of that demands attention here is the distance is not specified exactly to two bows but in fact, the ambiguities around distance and nearness were all dissolved and made to disappear by the word adna, or less. The only distinction that remained was that one was Allah, there is no deity except Him, and the other was His Beloved Servant, Huzoor Pak (peace be upon him). One was the Creator, Khaliq and the other the created, makhlooq.
It is to be noted that the conversation then between Love and His Beloved (saw) in those moments of aloneness were not revealed to anyone. No one knows anything about anything of the words exchanged between them then. Except that which Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) himself shared that when he met his Lord of the Universe, His Lord said to him, “
السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ،
Peace, the Mercy of Allah and His Blessings be on you, O Prophet (peace be upon you).
السَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى عِبَادِ اللَّهِ الصَّالِحِينَ
Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,
“Peace be upon us and the Righteous Servants of Allah.”
Pir Mehr Ali Shah Sahib (ra) speaks to the meeting at the Night of Ascension in his most famed na’at Kithay Mehr Ali Kithey Teri Sana;
بے رنگ دسے اس مورت تھیں
وچ وحدت پھٹیاں جد گھڑیاں
The One without form and colour appeared in his (the Prophet’s (peace be upon him)) being,
when in their union, they became united.
دسے صورت راہ بے صورت دا
توبہ راہ کی عین حقیقت دا
This being (of Nabi Kareem) guides the Way towards the One-ness of Allah.
No, in fact, he guides towards His True Reality.
پر کم نہیں بے سوجھت دا
کوئی ورلیاں موتی لے تریاں
But this is not comprehensible for those without inner eyes,
so only the fewest amongst the few imbue such meaning.
4. Amongst countless bestowings, the only Favour
لَقَدْ مَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًۭا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ
يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَتِهِۦ
وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ
وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَبَ
وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ
وَإِن كَانُوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ لَفِى ضَلَلٍۢ مُّبِينٍ
Indeed, Allah has bestowed a favour upon the believers, when he raised in their midst an apostle from among themselves,
to convery His Messages unto them,
and to cause them to grow in purity,
and to impart unto them the Divine Writ as well as wisdom,
where as before that they were, indeed, most obviously, lost in error.
Surah Aal e Imran, Verse 164
Tafseer e Jilani:
Laqad Mannallahu: By the Name of Allah, He bestowed a great Favour…
Ala al Mo’mineen: upon the ones who are sincere…
Id ba’atha fi-him: when he raised him, the Prophet (peace be upon him)), from amongst them for their guidance…
Rasool an: as a Messenger to be their Murshid, guide, who was brought up…
Min Anfusihim: in them to guide them with different types of guidance.
Yatlu alihim: First of all, he recites to them (the Quran) and makes them listen…
Ayati hi: to Allah’s Verses, which indicate towards the One-ness of His Essence.
Wa Yuzzakihim: Secondly, he purifies them from the evils whisperings of Satan and those desires that lead one astray from the Path of Allah’s One-ness.
Wa Yuallimuhim: And thirdly, he teaches them…
Al Kitab: the Book, which explains and clarifies to them the means to cleanse the overt, the zahir, as well as everything which is related to the apparent world.
Wa: Then fourthly he teaches them…
Al hikmat; the wisdom that purifies their inner being, the batin, from the inclination towards anything other than Allah, (both people and things), and which connects them to Sidrat al Muntaha, the Lote Tree, near which is Jannat ul Mawa, Heaven.
Wa in Kanu Min Qablu: And they were before the unveiling of these four stations…
Lafi Dalalin Mubeen: in clear waywardness and severe humiliation.
At the end then Ghaus Pak (ra) prays: “Ya Allah! By Your Bounty, save us from the sleep of those who are heedless.
Ameen!
Forgiveness and Mercy
5.
خُذِ ٱلْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِٱلْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ ٱلْجَهِلِينَ
Keep to forgiveness (O Beloved (peace be upon you) and enjoin the good,
and turn away from the ignorant.
Surah Al Araaf, Verse 199
Tafseer e Jilani:
And when their state is such and their insistence upon this purpose (of denial and being wayward);
Khud il afwa: Choose always (and make your habit), O Messenger who completes the Message (peace be upon you), the path of forgiveness and softness. And turn away from anger (of the type of being upset with someone when you can exercise ability to do something about it) and becoming hard, because this is in line with the affection of the status of Prophet-hood.
Wa’mur bil urf: And enjoin them with good deeds, calling them to the Way of Allah, with wisdom and softness of words, that nation in which you see the possibility of being guided, with the light of Prophet-hood and Closeness (with Allah).
Wa aa’rid ana jahileen: And avoid the ignorant, who are stubborn. And if they argue with you, argue with the in the best way. Indeed your Lord knows well which of them is astray from His Path and He knows well also who is guided among them.
The First Hadith taught to Would-be Scholars:
الرَّاحِمُونَ يَرْحَمُهُمُ الرَّحْمَنُ،
ارْحَمُوا أَهْلَ الْأَرْضِ يَرْحَمْكُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ
The Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said:
Allah, The Compassionate One has mercy on those who are merciful.
Show mercy to those who are on the earth, He Who is in the Heaven will show mercy to you.
Man is a creature of haste
6.
خُلِقَ ٱلْإِنسَنُ مِنْ عَجَلٍۢ ۚ
Man is a creature of haste.
Surah Al Anbiya, Verse 37
Tafseer e Jilani:
Khuliqal Insaan: Man was created, amongst all living creatures,…
Min ajl: as the one who craves the most haste in goodness and badness as if he was made from impulsiveness.
7.
وَيَدْعُ ٱلْإِنسَنُ بِٱلشَّرِّ دُعَآءَهُۥ بِٱلْخَيْرِ ۖ وَكَانَ ٱلْإِنسَنُ عَجُولًۭا
And human beings pray for things that are wrong (as often) as they pray for things that are good. And human beings are ever hasty.
Surah Al Isra’a, Verse 17
Tafseer e Jilani:
Wa: And overall, amongst the behaviour that is disliked, worldly and ugly…
Yad ul insaana: Man prays, being hasty (in his inner and outer being)…
Bi sharre: for that which is not good for him, so comes along, with that (prayer), that which he does not know about its evilness and its harmful consequences.
Dua’ahu bilkhair: (while he is) liking that which he is asking for as if it is good for him, due to his hastiness.
Wa kanal insaano: In Man’s nature is created haste (for himself) and he demands haste from others about that which he is inclined towards, even though it is detrimental for him.
The Marriage Equation
8.
وَمِنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦٓ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً ۚ
إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
And among His Signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates so that you may find tranquility in them.
And He placed between you love and mercy.
Indeed, in that surely are Messages for a people who reflect.
Surah Ar-Rum, Verse 21
And it was necessary to go deep into the meaning of a word for an institution that most in the world now regarded as “failed.”
Tafseer e Jilani:
Wa min ayati-hi: And one of the Signs that show His Majestic Authority (is)…
An khalaqa: that He gives to you in your control…
lakum man anfusikum: from your species and like you…
azwajaa: spouses, so that you do more than them in affection and inclination and give them regard to create the love. In fact, Allah has given you control over your spouses…
li-taskunu ilayha: so that they are your home and your refuge and you love them completely and you increase your offspring.
Wa: And like this is another wisdom…
ja’ala bainakum: He placed between you…
muwadda-tan: which is special and pure, love, that which arises only and only because of Allah’s Secrets, in a manner that cannot be comprehended what that love is and what its state is, why it exists and how it came about.
Wa: And His Perfect Wisdom which created from the zygote a child and it comes from the love.
Rahma-tan: A child like you who will keep your name and faith alive.
8. Commentary on the same verse by Hazrat Muhyuddin Ibn e Arabi (ra) for all people.
وَمِنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦٓ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً ۚ
إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
And among His Signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates so that you may find tranquility in them.
And He placed between you love and mercy.
Indeed, in that surely are Messages for a people who reflect.
Surah Ar-Rum, Verse 21
Wa min ayati-hi: From Allah’s Actions and His Attributes, which cause to join towards His Essence by recognizing and traveling the paths of spirituality…
An khalaqa lakum min anfusikum azwajaa: He created for the souls, the arwah, the nafs, the self, as their spouses…
Li-taskunu ilayha: so that the soul is inclined towards the nafs with muwaddat, (a special and pure love, that which rises only and only because of Allah’s Secrets, in a manner that cannot be comprehended what that love is and what its state is, why it exists and how it came about), and the soul takes effect from it and effects the nafs in turn.
Wa ja’ala bainakum muwadda-tan wa rahma-tan: And between them is unconditional love and tenderness so that the nafs loves the light of the ruh, the soul, and its effect upon it with acceptance, embracing its influence. Which makes the nafs remains calm from anger and become purified.
Then Allah sends His Mercy upon the nafs in the shape of the qalb, the Seat of Recognition of Allah, according to capability and capacity resulting from obedience. The nafs becomes guided by the blessing of this merciful qalb, learning its etiquettes and becoming joyous.
In turn, the soul loves the nafs by leaving its effect in it and shines its light upon it. Then Allah gives it the blessing of the qalb, soft and affectionate. The soul gains exalted ranks by the blessing of this qalb, because of which the soul gains perfection.
Inna fi dalika al la-Ayaat: In all of this are the Divine Attributes and Perfection
Li qaumi yatafakkaroon: for those who reflect, in their selves and in their souls and upon that which is their intrinsic nature, (the nafs), and that which is sent down upon them, (the ruh).
It was the part of the verse with the word muwaddat in it that was most captivating. Both the nafs and the ruh, the base self and the soul, communicated and understood each other though the qalb. So without the knowing, the recognition of God, the two would always remain alienated. Anger would eventually turn into rage. Calm would transform into ever increasing restlessness;
Wa ja’ala bainakum muwadda-tan wa rahma-tan: And between them is unconditional love and tenderness so that the nafs loves the light of the ruh and its effect upon it with acceptance, embracing its influence. Which makes the nafs remains calm from anger and become purified.
Then Allah sends His Mercy upon the nafs in the shape of the qalb, according to capability and capacity resulting from obedience. The nafs becomes guided by the blessing of this merciful qalb, learning its etiquettes and becoming joyous.
In turn, the soul loves the nafs by leaving its effect in it and shines its light upon it. Then Allah gives it the blessing of the qalb, soft and affectionate. The soul gains exalted ranks by the blessing of this qalb, because of which the soul gains perfection.
Subhan Allah!
Iblis throws down the gauntlet
9.
قَالَ رَبِّ بِمَآ أَغْوَيْتَنِى لَأُزَيِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
Iblis said, "My Lord!
Because You misled me, surely, I will make evil seem goodly to them in the earth and I will mislead them all.
Surah Al-Hijr, Verse 39
I studied the verse with my teacher;
“Let’s go back a little,” said Qari Sahib.
The context of the verse is that Iblis said the line above after he was given the leeway to do what he wants by God. Which he asked for.
قَالَ رَبِّ فَأَنظِرْنِىٓ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ
He said, "O my Lord! Then give me respite till the Day they are raised."
Surah Al-Hijr, Verse 36
Thus he is granted time to do what he wants. Now let’s look at what Ghaus Pak (ra) says about the exegesis of verse 39 where he vows revenge by misleading and making evil seem good;
Tafseer e Jilani:
Qala: Iblis said, taking an oath to exaggerate his point…
Rabbi bima Aghwaytani: I swear upon the Truthfulness of your Authority, which has been the way through which You have mislead me and made me wayward, and made me fall from those high exalted ranks I possessed, and made me exit from between my beloved ones and my brothers (the angels)…
La uzzayanna lahum: I will beautify their deeds which are illegitimate and make them appear as good all their negative actions.
Fil Ard: and I will make them deluded so they will pursue all kinds of wrongful deeds and all types of crimes and those sins that their nature is inclined towards naturally.
Li Ughwayannahum: and I will mislead them, all of them collectively, so that none of them will be safe from me, anyone who has nafs Ammara.
Basically everyone!
Hazrat Najmuddin Kubra (ra) in the Tafseer e Jilani:
“You had made the behaviour of your nafs overpower the attributes of your qalb, which is the Seat of Recognition of Allah. This is because your good deeds were only for display and to claim good repute. Your purpose in following in the footsteps of the nafs was to receive things from this world that you thought would benefit you and showing truthful regard for your Lord was not your intention.
Still, he delivered you from painful punishment (for such acts) so that you would only desire to seek the Pleasure of Allah and occupy yourself only with His worship (by being mindful of Him at all times). If you were thus granted, due to His Mercy, advances in your spiritual ranks, don’t become stuck in them. Instead, move forward and continue to seek union with the Status and Stations of Allah’s Essence until you achieve success in reaching them.”
Ghaus Pak (ra) in Al Fath Ar Rabbani:
“What I say to you, listen to it through the ears of your qalb, the Station of Recognition of Allah in the heart, and remember it and bring it into practice. I want you to speak to me through the tongue of your qalb and be sincere in your deeds, such that you reach a point that I look at your state and say to you, ‘Well done!’”
“Remember! Makhlooq, creation, is the veil over your nafs, ego.
And your ego is the veil over your qalb that prevents you from recognizing your Lord.
And your qalb is the veil over your batin, the inner being.
So as long as you remain stuck with people, you will not be able to see your nafs.”
10. Iblis as attached as an associate
وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُۥ شَيْطَـٰنًا فَهُوَ لَهُۥ قَرِينٌ
And whoever turns a blind eye to the Reminder of the Most Compassionate,
We place at the disposal of each one from the party of Iblis as their close associate,
Surah Az-Zukruf, Verse 36
Tafseer e Jilani:
Wa mayya’shu: and the one who turns away physically as well as from the heart…
An dikr Ar Rahman: from the Quran, which explains for this person the way to imaan, faith and irfaan, Recognition of Allah, due to excessive lustful desires and attractions for the senses which are worldly…
Nuqayyad lahu: We give control and power over him to…
Shaytan an: Iblis and his party, who misguides him, and seduces him and whispers doubts into his heart, and destroys him.
Fa huwa: Shaitaan then becomes…
Lahu Qareen: attached to him forever, beautifying for him that which is sinful and that which is wrong and makes him deluded into believing those things until he makes him enter into the fire which cuts and deprives him from Allah’s Mercy.
11. Following in the Footsteps of Satan
يَٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّبِعُوا۟ خُطُوَتِ ٱلشَّيْطَنِ ۚ
وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَتِ ٱلشَّيْطَنِ فَإِنَّهُۥ يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ ۚ
وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُۥ مَا زَكَىٰ مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًۭا وَلَكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُزَكِّى مَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌۭ
O you who believe!
Do not follow in the footsteps of Shaitaan,
and whoever follows in the footsteps of the Shaitaan then indeed, he commands the immorality and wrongdoing.
And if it were not for the Grace of Allah upon you and His Mercy, not one of you would have been pure,
but Allah purifies whom He wills.
And Allah is The Hearer of all things, The Knower of all things.
Surah An-Nur, Verse 21
Tafseer e Jilani:
Ya ayyohalladina amino: O ye who believed in in the One-ness of the Maker and His Attributes and in Prophethood and all the Messengers and in the Shari’a which is for everyone and beneficial for all in terms of creating moderation in manners and rituals among Mankind, the reason behind you having faith, imaan, is that you go against your nafs, the base self, and your desires, both of which are from the force of Satan, the one who misleads and the one who takes away from the Path of Truth.
La tattibi’u khutowaat e Shaitan: Don’t walk in the footsteps of Satan and don’t follow his lead in the distribution of vulgarity and your love of sins.
Wa manyattabi: And who so ever amongst you, O believers, follows…
Khutuwaat e Shaitan: in the footsteps of Satan, the one who leads astray and entraps, he becomes astray and trapped.
Fa innahu: So indeed he, Satan…
Ya’mur: commands the one who follows him and considers him his leader…
Bil Fahsha: to be lewd and immoral in ways that go against nature and the laws of the faith…
Wal munkir: and to become a refuser of modesty and the Quran and the hadith.
Wa lau la fadullahi alaikum: And were it not for the Bounty of Allah upon you, who is the Protector for the correction of your states…
Wa Rahmatu hu: And His Mercy, which is in abundance and encompasses all His Servants…
Ma zaka: there would be no one saved or purified or made sincere…
Minkum ahadun: from amongst any of you from following in the footsteps of Satan…
Abadan: ever, for as long as you live, because following him has been placed in your nature (just as goodness has been placed in it), and following him appears beautified for you and readily accepted by your nafs…
Wa lakinn Allah: But Allah Ta’ala, the One who manages the affairs of His Servants…
Yuzzaki: inserts sincerity and purifies them from the traps of Satan and his evil promptings…
Mayysha: whom so ever He wills, by virtue of His Wisdom and His Control by which He forms the human being…
Wallahu: and He is fully Aware of what is in the overt and what in in the hidden…
Sami’un: He the Hearer of the words (of everyone)…
Aleemun: and the Knower of all backgrounds and all intentions.
The Hadith:
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
مَا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا وَقَدْ وُكِّلَ بِهِ قَرِينُهُ مِنْ الْجِنِّ
قَالُوا وَإِيَّاكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ
قَالَ وَإِيَّايَ إِلَّا أَنَّ اللَّهَ أَعَانَنِي عَلَيْهِ فَأَسْلَمَ فَلَا يَأْمُرُنِي إِلَّا بِخَيْرٍ
The Prophet of God (peace be upon him) said, “There is no one amongst you except that next to him is an associate from the Jinn (who propels him towards sin.)
The Companions asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Even with you?”
He replied, “And even with me except that Allah helped me against him and he surrendered so (now) he doesn’t say order me towards anything except goodness.
Sheikh Nurjan, one of the most important living Masters of the Naqshbandi Silsila:
“The Auliya Allah – the Friends of God – and their disciples receiving training from them teaching this, ‘Live a life because someone wants to know if they are Mukhlis, sincere. Are they just Muslim and they accepted religion, any religion because whether you are Jews or Christians or Muslims, these are all titles, are you one who submits your will to the Will of The Almighty? For then you become Muslim, the one who submits their will to the Will of the Divine.
Then you come to the next maqam, station, which is to be a Mo’min, a believer. And Allah says, ‘Don’t say you believe, just say you accepted.’”
Iblis spares no one:
Imam Raazi (ra) was a Persian polymath, Islamic scholar and a pioneer of inductive logic. He wrote various works in the fields of medicine, chemistry, physics, astronomy, cosmology, literature, theology, ontology, philosophy, history and jurisprudence.
He was one of the earliest proponents and skeptics that came up with the concept of Multiverse, and compared it with the astronomical teachings of Quran. A rejector of the geocentric model and the Aristotelian notions of a single universe revolving around a single world, Al-Raazi argued about the existence of the outer space beyond the known world.
“When he was on his deathbed, Iblis came to the Imam (ra) to give his last best effort to make break his faith, take it away from him.
With this in mind, Iblis asked him a question, “You spent your entire life in seeing the Signs of Allah and loving Him. Did you ever recognize God?”
The Imam (ra) replied, “Without doubt Allah is One.”
Iblis said, “Where is your proof for it?”
Imam Fakhar al Din al Raazi (ra) gave him a daleel (an argument as evidence). Iblis, once the Ustad of the Angels, dismissed the argument. The Imam (ra) presented a second case. He defeated that as well. The conversation continued until the Imam (ra) had given 360 arguments and Iblis had dispelled all of them. The Imam (ra) became gravely perplexed and started to lose hope.
Imam Fakhar al Din al Raazi (ra) was the disciple of Hazrat Najmuddin Kubra (ra), one of the most favoured disciples of Ghaus Pak (ra). Hazrat Najmuddin Kubra (ra) could see the whole incident unfolding before him from afar.
He was performing ablution and during it, he called out to his disciple, “Why don’t you just say, ‘I have brought faith upon God without any argument.’”
Who is the one saved from Iblis
12. The ones who rely solely on Allah
إِنَّهُۥ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ سُلْطَـٰنٌ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
Indeed, there is for him (Iblis) no authority over those who have believed and rely upon their Lord.
Surah An-Nahl, Verse 99
Tafseer e Jilani:
Inna hu laysa hu sultan an: Indeed he, Iblis, has no ability to capture and overcome…
A’la lladina a’mino: the ones who believe in the One-ness of Allah and have certainty in the truthfulness of Allah’s Books and His Messengers and the Day promised and that which will be given in reward that Day.
Wa; And along with this
Al’a Rabbi-him: they rely on their Lord and no one else from the sources and means of day to day life and…
Yatawakkaluna: they surrender and they entrust all their matters to Him for sure.
And also:
13. Iblis admits his helplessness before the Sincere
إِلَّا عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ ٱلْمُخْلَصِينَ
Except the sincere among your worshippers.
Surah Al-Hijr, Verse 40
Tafseer e Jilani:
Al Mukhliseen: The Sincere are the ones who have saved their necks from the noose of the nafs e Ammara (the lowest self of three). They are the ones who are content and steadfast, standing firmly on the Station of seeking the Pleasure of Allah and surrendering.”
Tauba - Repentance
14. Except he who repents
إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًۭا صَلِحًۭا فَأُو۟لَٓئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ ٱللَّهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمْ حَسَنَتٍۢ ۗ
وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا
Except he who repents and believes and does deeds righteous,
then for those will replace Allah their evil deeds with good ones.
And is Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Surah Al-Furqan: Verse 70
Tafseer e Jilani:
Illa man taba: The one who repents over his wrongful deeds made by wrong decisions, and return to Allah regretful for them these deeds which rendered him in a state of loss and harmfulness. When he returns to Allah ashamed, in fear of His Punishment, declaring his nafs to be the liar, making it feel ashamed, sighing and feeling sad about that which has passed in his life...
Wa: and along with all this…
Aamana: he believes in Allah’s One-ness and strengthens his repentance by renewing his faith, imaan, enjoining it with sincerity, and keeping other believers safe from committing sins against the faith, (so overall; He renews his faith, believing, sighing regretfully, for the times when he was committing sins and not being a Mo’min)...
Wa: (again) with repentance and renewing of his imaan…
Amila amilan salihan: he does good deeds, based on sincerity in that faith and that repentance, knowing of its certainty and recognition of those good deeds.
Fa ulaika: So these are the fortunate ones who repent and return and are accepted by Allah. Only these are the ones who…
Yubadilullahu: Allah, Al Hakeem, The Wise One, Al Muslihu, The Reformer, changes the states of His Servants, after He gives them the ability for sincere repentance and a truthful return…
Sayyatihim: (He changes) their bad deeds committed before their tauba, repentance, into…
Hasanatin: good deeds afterwards. This is such that Allah, by His Bounty, erases their sins which have been written on their records before their repentance (before Him), and in exchange he writes for those sins, good deeds.
Wa Kana Allahu: And Allah is The One Well Informed of the secrets of His Servant and of his sincerity.
Ghafoor-an: He is The Forgiver, the One who lets go their sins no matter how major they are after they have come with sincere repentance.
Rahim-an: He accepts with His Mercy their tauba and forgives them their sins.
It took us two classes to translate the verse and I saw myself in only the first three words; illa man tab - except he who repents.
15. The one who repents is extended forgiveness
فَمَن تَابَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ظُلْمِهِۦ وَأَصْلَحَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِ ۗ
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ
But whoever repented from after his wrongdoing and reforms, then indeed,
Allah will turn in forgiveness to him. Indeed, Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Surah Al Maidah, Verse 39
Tafseer e Jilani:
Faman ta’aba: So the one who repents and returns towards Allah sincere (in heart), in fear (of reckoning)…
Min ba’ada dulmihi: after he transgressed boundaries set by Him …
Wa aslaha: and reformed themselves with repentance (by returning towards Allah with sincerity) for the corruption that they have brought upon their own nafs (self) by disobeying Allah’s Orders.
Fa innallaha: Indeed, Allah is Al Musleh, The Reformer of all states of His Servant.
Yatubu alaihi: And Allah also turns towards Him and accepts his tauba, repentance, after giving him the ability for that repentance.
Innallaha: Without doubt, Allah is the One who is Al Muyassir, the One who gives ease in all matter for His Servants…
Ghafur an: He is the Forgiver of all their sins.
16. Repent and reform
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ تَابُوا۟ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ وَأَصْلَحُوا۟ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ
Except those who repent from after that, and reform[ed] themselves.
Then indeed, Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Surah Aal e Imran, Verse 3
Tafseer e Jilani:
Illaladina taabu: Except for the ones who were repentant amongst them in this life.
Min ba’ada dalika: then after this, they who had turned away from the faith and become astray…
Waslahu: then reformed their state with repentance and sincerity of the heart, seeking forgiveness, expressing regret upon that which they did…
Fa Innallaha: Indeed, Allah is Al Muwwafiq, the One who gives the ability for the tauba,
Ghafur-an: concealing their crimes…
Rahim-an: Affectionate, letting go of their mistakes.
17. From Darkness into Light
ٱللَّهُ وَلِىُّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِ ۖ
Allah is the Protecting Guardian of those who believed.
He brings them out from the darkness towards the light.
Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 257
Tafseer e Jilani:
Allahu: The One who is the Gatherer of All Attributes and All Names…
Walliulladina Aamino: He is the Friend of those who bring faith upon Him. He raises them, according to His Qualities and all that He encompasses (which is everything)…
Yukhrijjuhum min adulumaat: and brings them out of the darkness, which is the darkness of their nature and darkness of their doubts (of possibilities) and all other darkness…
Ilan Noor: towards the Light, crystal clear, His Pure One-ness, free of dust and all other associations.
18. The strategy of Satan is weak
إِنَّ كَيْدَ ٱلشَّيْطَنِ كَانَ ضَعِيفًا
Indeed, the strategy of the Shaitaan is weak.
Surah An-Nisa’, Verse 76
Inna kayda Ash Shaitan: Indeed the plotting of Shaitan, as compared to the planning of Allah and His Response to his cunningness…
Kana daeefan: is insignificant and without influence.
The Delusion of the World
الدنيا ظل زائل
The world is a shadow, disappearing.
Maula e Kayinaat, Hazrat Ali (ratu)
19. It is all that it is
وَمَا ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَآ إِلَّا مَتَعُ ٱلْغُرُورِ
But is not the life of the world anything except the enjoyment of delusion.
Surah Al-Hadeed, Verse 20
Tafseer e Jilani:
Mal Hayatud duniya illa: In the eyes of those who are ahraar, free before their Lord, who are detached and not bound by their desire or will or need or anything else, who have reached the rank of ae’tabar, certainty and istibsaar, witnessing by the eye…
Illa Mata ul ghurror: according to these ahraar, the life in the world is an illusion that deludes and is false like a mirage. And the one who is caught in that deception and starts indulging in whatever is in the world, then indeed, he become deserving of destruction and ruin. And is rendered deprived of the Peace in Allah’s Closeness and the Tranquility of His Presence.
20. Wealth and children are trials
إِنَّمَآ أَمْوَلُكُمْ وَأَوْلَدُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌۭ ۚ
وَٱللَّهُ عِندَهُۥٓ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌۭ
Verily, your wealth and your children are a trial, and Allah - with Him is a reward great.
Surah At-Taghabun, Verse 15
Tafseer e Jilani:
Innama amawalkum wa auladakum fitna: Without doubt, your wealth and your children are a trial great and an intense test for you. So it is incumbent upon you to not show-off because of them. For they are both a web of Satan’s party and ropes by which they (appear to) entangle you because the party of Satan and their ropes, (both of these), want to stop you from Allah’s Path by beautifying your wealth and children for you and making them beloved for your hearts so you become occupied by them both, so you are withdrawn from the company of the Mukhliseen, the sincere.
Wa Allahu inda hu ajrun azeem: Allah has the greatest reward for those who are sincere, who keep away from focusing on anything other than Him at all.
21. All is an adornment
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ زِينَةً لَّهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا
(Truly we have made all that is on Earth as an adornment for it)
that We may try them, as to which of them is best in their deed.
Surah Al-Kahf, Verse 7
Tafseer e Jilani:
Inna ja’alne ma ala alardi: Without doubt We created upon this Earth three basic things; animals and humans, vegetation, and buried treasures. And Ee created whatever else comes from this Earth; different tastes and different lusts, which are physical or fantasy.
Zeenatal laha: These are adornments for it that make it (the world) beautiful and attractive…
Ayyuhum ahsan amlan: to see which of them (Mankind) has the best deeds and these deeds are the ones which are completed with true guidance and reflection by detachment from the world. And the absence of focus towards it and staying away from its enjoyment which is an illusion. And staying away from the distraction it creates and its lusts which bring with them all kinds of pain and difficulties and desires. It is these wishes which in turn cause different sins and crimes.
It is then imperative that in this world then one lives in a single room and wears a single outfit and eats simply, for everything else is just debris which is transient, which inherits sinfulness and trials.
22. Listen, obey, spend
فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا ٱسْتَطَعْتُمْ وَٱسْمَعُوا۟ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ وَأَنفِقُوا۟ خَيْرًۭا لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۗ
وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ
So be mindful of Allah as much as you can and listen (to Him) and obey and spend,
it is better for your selves.
And whoever is saved from their own greed, those are the successful ones.
Surah At-Taghabun, Verse 16
Tafseer e Jilani:
Fattaqu Allah ma astata’tum: So be conscious of Allah as much as you can and make Him your Protector for yourselves from the delusions Satan inserts and the trials that come due to him…
Wasma’u: and listen carefully the Words of Allah with the ears of surrender and acceptance…
Wa ati’u: and obey His Commands and stay away from what He forbids and don’t become disobedient from His Orders at all.
Wanfiqu: and spend from that which Allah has given you. Allah has made you His Vice-regent so obey His Order (to be obedient) and to seek His Pleasure and do all that He Commands, especially sacrifice and spending…
Khairallakum: is best for you, in this world and will be a treasure for you in the next life. And the greatest benefit of this spending is that it will save your nafs, self, from the dishonor and humiliation of miserliness.
Wa mayyuqa shu’ha nafsihi: And the one who was saved from stinginess of the nafs by giving and spending…
Fa ulaika: these are the ones who are fortunate and the ones who personify the attributes of large heartedness and generosity…
Hum ul muflihoon: and they are the ones who are rendered successful by Allah with great rewards and the highest ranks.
Subhan Allah!
23. The ones who spread vulgarity
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَ أَن تَشِيعَ ٱلْفَحِشَةُ فِى ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْءَاخِرَةِ ۚ
Indeed, those who like that immorality should spread among those who believe, will have a punishment painful in the world and the Hereafter.
Surah An-Nur, Verse 19
Tafseer e Jilani:
Then said Allah as a warning to all peoples;
Inna: Indeed the mufsideen, the ones who spread harm and those who transgress His Boundaries…
Alladina Yuhibbuna: they are the ones who love, from the wickedness of their inner beings (the batin)…
An Tasheeh’: and they exhibit and spread…
Al Fashiha: vulgarity that is considered ugly by the reflecting mind as well as the Sharia’ (Islamic Law)…
Filladina Amano: amongst those who have belief i.e. amongst the Mo’mineen.
Lahum: For them is the punishment for the publishing and distributing (of such material)…
Azabun Aleem: which is painful and scary…
Fi Duniya: in the world physically
Wal akhira: and in the Hereafter with flames of fire.
24. Man is a Transgressor
كَلَّآ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَنَ لَيَطْغَىٰٓ
أَن رَّءَاهُ ٱسْتَغْنَىٰٓ
Indeed, Man surely transgresses all bounds,
whenever he sees himself to be self-sufficient.
Surah Al-Alaq, Verse 6-7
Tafseer e Jilani:
And so Allah says admonishingly;
Kalla inna al insaana: Surely Man, who has been born from the lowest of the matter (smelly earth, sperm) and then given the highest ranks which reach the zenith of dignity and praise…
Layatgha: he transgresses all the limits set by Allah and assumes arrogance before Him, forgetting the original lowly materials of his creation.
Ar ra’ahu: For he thinks he is all in all, assuming that on his own…
Astaghna: he is self-sufficient and becomes careless about Allah and thinks that he needs nothing from Him. He becomes prideful with His Servants, and walks on this Earth arrogantly because of the debris which he has collected from this world and its transient attractions.
The End of Al-Araaf – from the Tafseer e Jilani
In those days, I was reading Surah Al-Araaf from the Tafseer e Jilani. Ghaus Pak (ra) starts and ends each Surah with an address. The first, the beginning, is for the ones Chosen by Allah, the extraordinary. The end is for the rest of us, the ordinary. When I reached it and read what Ghaus Pak (ra) said to me, the reader, I was struck by how it was always all about Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him);
“O one who turns their direction towards the Qibla of Ahmed (peace be upon him) and who intends to reach the destination of the One-ness of Allah through Muhammad (peace be upon him)! It is imperative for you to…
May Allah give you guidance towards the the Straight Path and enjoins you to the Station of Tauheed.
…turn your attention towards the states of your qalb, the seat of recognition of God, and remember what is in it from your Lord’s as gifts, through investigation and quest for these treasures, whilst avoiding that which places you in doubt from the dust of obscurity of others, so that you reach the standard of receiving admonition and trust.
That you do it in a way that the evil prompting of the plotter, Satan, does not come into your heart. Nor the betrayals of the world with their deceit and unfaithfulness. None of this will be achieved by you except with remembrance through Allah’s Book which has advice and information and history. So obey the commands it orders and forbids and reflect on its overt secrets and the unveiling of its wisdom and its hidden secrets.
It is incumbent upon you that if you want to receive true guidance from the Book, you have to enjoin yourself with the ahadith of Rasool Allah (peace be upon him). Because the ahadith are meant to explain it, reveal the secrets and signs in it, and make clear that which is ambiguous in it. The ahadith will give you the security you need to have true belief and secure you from slipping and turning away from guidance. It is the ahadith that which take you, according to your capacity, to the path of One-ness.”
25. The Guiding Friend
مَن يَهْدِ ٱللَّهُ فَهُوَ ٱلْمُهْتَدِ ۖ
وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُۥ وَلِيًّا مُّرْشِدًا
Whoever guides Allah and he is the guided one,
and whoever He lets go astray then never you will find for him a protector,
or a guiding friend.
Surah Al-Kahf, Verse 17
I studied the verse form the tafseer of Ghaus Pak (ra) to see what he meant by “guiding friend.”
Waliyan: A friend, who helps him in his affairs by interceding for him, so that the friend can save him from the waywardness that is naturally present (in all people in the nafs). And he delivers him from the punitive consequences of what the nafs will bring upon him.
Murshid an: The friend is the one who shows him (the way of the Sharia’) and guides him (through the path of spirituality) towards the Straight Path.
Imam Maalik (ra) said;
من تفقه ولم يتصوف فقد تفسق
ومن تصوف ولم يتفقه فقد تزندق
ومن جمع بينهما فقد تحقق
The one who follows Fiqh, Islamic Jurisprudence, but does
not purify the heart,
so indeed he becomes a fasiq, defiantly disobedient.
The one who purifies the heart and ignores the laws of Jurisprudence,
he becomes a zindeeq, of the disbelievers.
And the one who gathers them both, indeed he attains
certainty and arrives at the truth.
As someone who tends to pay little attention to the Sharia, I was amazed; I could become a zindeeq, a heretic!
26. Those who are Mindful – the Muttaqi – are reminded
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ طَٓئِفٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلشَّيْطَنِ تَذَكَّرُوا۟ فَإِذَا هُم مُّبْصِرُونَ
Indeed, those who are mindful and conscious of Allah, when touches them an evil thought from the Shaitaan,
they remember Allah and then they are those who begin to see things clearly.
Surah Al-Araaf, Verse 201
Tafseer e Jilani:
Then said Allah reminding His Beloved (peace be upon him);
Innalladina ittaqau: Those who are conscious and mindful of Me amongst My Servants, they are in a routine such that…
Ida massahum: whenever touches them and tries to overcome them…
Taifun: the sender from Satan who awaits and encircles their hearts…
Min Ash-Shaitan tadakkaru: they remind themselves of what they been commanded to do and what is forbidden for them from Allah…
Fa idahum: so in the same moment, due to the remembrance of what has been commanded and that which is forbidden…
Mubsiroon: they become able to differentiate the placement of the sins and therefore become careful of them and come into the Refuge of Allah from those things that put them into false illusions about Him.
27. When anger is stirred
وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ نَزْغٌ فَٱسْتَعِذْ بِٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
If an evil suggestion come to you from Satan stirring you (to blind anger),
then seek refuge with Allah. Surely He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
Surah Al-A’raf, Verse 200
Tafseer e Jilani:
Wa Imma Yanazaghannaka: So if reaches you whispers which then disappear, thus placing you in a state of disruption…
Min Shaitaan: it is from Shaitaan, who influences you physically through the organs which cause anger and stokes the ego in a way that is only ignorant creating a false sense of dignity…
Nazghun: causing doubts and delusions that persuade you to become angry and take you out of the state that you have been ordered to stay in, which is tolerance and softness of behaviour.
Fasta’iz billah: So come into the Refuge of Allah from these entrapments and return to Him from these doubts and this plotting. He is with His Glory Enough to protect you from his evil and treachery.
Inna hu: Indeed, Allah is Pure from everything that is negative…
Sami’un: and is the Acceptor of your prayers,
Aleem: and the Fulfiller of your needs.
Said Maula e Kayinaat, Hazrat Ali (ratu);
إِذَا قَدَرْتَ عَلَى عَدُوِّكَ
فَاجْعَلِ الْعَفْوَ عَنْهُ شُكْراً لِلْقُدْرَةِ عَلَيْهِ
Whenever you gain power over your adversary,
keep practicing forgiveness,
out of gratitude (to God), for the control you gained over them .
28. The Wickedness and Goodness in Us
وَنَفْسٍۢ وَمَا سَوَّىٰهَا
Consider the human spirit and who perfected it.
Surah Ash Shams, Verse 7
Tafseer e Jilani:
Wa nafsin: Allah takes an oath upon the spirit that receives nourishment from His Names and Attributes, which is revealed in all forms which are named (by Him). The spirit comes into the organs (in these bodies), both higher (the angels) and lower (Mankind) so that everything can gain benefit from the remembrance of their origin and their true purpose of existence.
Wa ma sawaaha: And He takes an oath on Himself who made this spirit, meaning He made it moderate and created it as a compound fitted with the influences of the higher (heavenly) and the lower (earthly) elements.
29-31: To succeed or fail
فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَىٰهَا
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّىٰهَا
وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّىٰهَا
And He inspired it (to distinguish) its wickedness and its righteousness.
Indeed, he succeeds who purifies it,
And indeed, he fails who buries it (in darkness).
Surah Ash Shams, Verse 8-10
Tafseer e Jilani:
Fa alhamaha fujuraha wa taqwaha: So He inspired it (the nafs) to both, wickedness and mindfulness, according to that which is placed in it from the forces of heavens as well as of the Earth. Then He burdened it according to what it can bear so that the one who is truthful can be differentiated from the one who is false, and the astray from the guided, and the denier of Truth from the believer, completing the wisdom, which is rooted in certainty, which reaches the Essence of Allah and which reflects the Dominance of His Power.
Qad aflaha man zakkaha: Indeed he was successful and prosperous due to the success He prospered by receiving from Allah the highest ranks…
Man zakkaha: the one who cleansed his nafs from the vileness of the world and from the possibilities of the demands of its desires and its lusts.
Wa qad khaba: And he was in a loss and ruined himself…
Man dassaha: the one who prevented the nafs from reaching its higher level (from Ammara, corrupt to Mutma’inna, content) and made it wayward. He did this by persuading it to be disobedient and sinful, which was done due to the demands of its base nature, its lustful desires and the wickedness of the world. This persuasion is what makes it deserving of different kinds of losses and deprivation and humiliation.
Maqam al Ummiya – The Station of being an Ummi
Tafseer e Jilani:
“Amongst the 124,000 Prophets and 313 Messengers, the maqam, station, of being Ummi is specific to only the Last Messenger (peace be upon him). Never before has the word been used previously for any Prophet or Messenger.
The Meaning of Ummi: The word Ummi is derived from the word umm which means origin or source or root. So Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) is Ummi because he is the origin of everything. For example, Mecca is called Umm ul Qura because it is the origin and first of the cities. The Quran is called Umm ul Kitab because it is the base and source of all the books.”
32. Those who deny the Afterlife
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْءَاخِرَةِ زَيَّنَّا لَهُمْ أَعْمَلَهُمْ فَهُمْ يَعْمَهُونَ
As for those who will not believe in the life to come – behold, We made their own doings appear goodly have unto them, and so they stumble blindly to and fro.
Surah An-Naml, Verse 4
Tafseer e Jilani:
Then said Allah according to His Sunnah everlasting in His Book:
Innaladeena la yu’minoon: Those who do not affirm and testify that…
Bil akhirati: there is an Afterlife, out of pride and out of stubbornness…
Zayyana: We make good…
Lahum a’malahum: the ugly, the evil and the worldly acts for them and we give them time for a while, such that they become deserving of the worst punishment and the worst end.
Fahum: So these people because of Us giving them this time, they are intoxicated in their addictions and their waywardness…
Ya’mahoona: wandering in a state of bewilderment, proud, showing off of their luxurious lives and their blessings.
33. The Guided and the Astray
أَفَمَن زُيِّنَ لَهُۥ سُوٓءُ عَمَلِهِۦ فَرَءَاهُ حَسَنًۭاۖ
فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُضِلُّ مَن يَشَآءُ وَيَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُۖ
فَلَا تَذْهَبْ نَفْسُكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسَرَتٍۚ
Is, then, he to whom the evil of how own doings so alluring that he regards it as good?
For verily, Allah lets him go astray who wills to go astray, just as he guides him that wills to be guided.
Hence, O Allah’s Habeeb (peace be upon you), don’t let your sorrow over them destroy you.
Surah Fatir, Verse 8
Tafseer e Jilani:
A faman zuyyana lahu soo’u amalihi faraahu hasanan: Does the human being think that Shaitaan, Satan, has made his sinful deeds for him attractive, when in fact they are entirely wrong. This happens because of his false beliefs and wicked thoughts, so how can he be like the one who is in fact good in his matters and his faith? Can it be that the two become equal and deserving of the same reward? Never ever!
Fa Innallaha: The One who possess all Honour (Al-Mutazziz), who has Supreme Authority and Majesty, who controls all He wants…
Yudillu: He makes (some) wayward from the Path of Tauheed, according to His Wrath and according to His Majesty…
Mayya sha’: those of His Creation who are disobedient, sinking them in waywardness and making them lost…
Wa yahdi maayya sha’: and He guides and gives guidance (to others), for indeed, this is what is asked for as help by them first of all. This (Decision) is a function only and only of Allah’s Will and His Choice. Nothing is allowed to interrupt that or become involved in it in any way whatsoever.
Fa la tadhab nafsuka: So don’t exhaust yourself, O Beloved (peace be upon him), and don’t be a cause of your own extreme anguish and torment…
Alaihim: over the ones who are astray, though you love for them guidance and wish it for them…
Hasaraat: feeling sad for them and sorry for them, pining over this wish of yours for them again and again feeling that sorrow for them, layering grief upon grief because of their waywardness and refusal to accept guidance.
Then in repeating the meaning again Ghaus Pak (ra) says for emphasis:
“For that person who thinks his sin is goodness and thinks the deed is good for his nafs and believes it to be correct, all the time being unaware that it is in fact falsehood. This is the reason he has turned from the Right Path, thus totally distancing himself from guidance.
And you, O Beloved Messenger (peace be upon him) who completes The Message, will you torture yourself over them in sorrow wondering all the whole; “Why don’t they accept guidance and why don’t they bring faith?” Indeed, Allah makes astray those He wishes to make astray and guides those He wishes to guide. So don’t feel badly for them.”
34. Allah has full knowledge
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ
Indeed, Allah has full knowledge of what they do.
Surah Fatir, Verse 8
Tafseer e Jilani:
In Allaha: No doubt, Allah is The One is watching all states…
Aleemun bima yasnaoon: And He knows everything that they do. He will give them the result of their evil and wrongful deeds, so don’t belabor yourself for them over that which they are missing in instruction and guidance.
35. The Reward of Amil Saleh – Good deeds
مَنْ عَمِلَ صَلِحًۭا مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌۭ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُۥ حَيَوٰةًۭ طَيِّبَةًۭ ۖ
وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
Whoever does righteous deeds whether male or female while he is a believer, then surely We will give him life, a good life,
and We will pay them their reward to the best of what they used to do.
Surah An-Nahl, Verse 97
Tafseer e Jilani:
Man amila: The one amongst you who does deeds…
Salihan: the deeds that We accept and that make you accepted by Us…
Min zakiran: by the men amongst you…
Au unthawa: or the females, in the state that they are…
Huwa: during the performance of the deed…
Mo’min: (if they are) believers in the One-ness of Allah, testifying to His Books sent upon them and His Messengers, obedient to all that which The Last Messenger (peace be upon him) brings, wanting increase in their ranks from Ilm ul Yaqeen, Knowledge of the Truth, to Ayn ul Yaqeen, Witnessing of the Truth, towards Haq ul yaqeen the Truth of the Truth…
Falanuh ya yanna hu: We, Allah, surely give them life after the death of their worldly needs and lusts and when they withdraw and become detached from their animalistic instincts by their will and choice,
Hayatan tayyaba: We give them a pure life with actual purity which is eternal, without the stain of death (for it is everlasting) and loss, which is devoid of the ill of expiry and finality, which is cleansed of all grudges and ills (of the heart) which are connected to the overt life (in the world).
Wa lanajzeeyannahum ajrahum: and We will give them the reward of their deeds and their patience which they exercised against fulfilling the demands of their base self in their overt life…
Bi ahsana ma kanu yamuloon: with the best and most abundant of rewards for their deeds which they performed when they traveled towards Us, wanting of the union with Our Pure One-ness.
36. Each soul earns its doing
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ
Allah does not burden Allah any soul with more than its capacity to bear.
For it is every good that it earned, and against is every evil it what it has incurred.
Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 286
Tafseer e Jilani:
La Yukallifullaha: The Allah who guides towards Him does not place any burden…
Nafsan illa Wusaha: upon any soul more than it can bear i.e. except that which it can bear, according to its capacity and strength and capability, which He set in His Ever-Present Knowledge for this purpose. So this makes clear…
Laha Ma Kasabat: that the soul will only be rewarded for its virtues and good deeds according to the capability of its nature.
Wa Aliyha Maktasabat: and it will be held accountable for that which it earns from its wrongful deeds, due to following the powers of the nafs, self, as much as follows it because it is the abode of all degeneration.
37. Allah is the Protector
وَٱللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ ۗ
And Allah will protect you from the people.
Surah Al Maidah – Verse 67
Tafseer e Jilani:
Wallahu: The One who safeguards every state of yours (O Beloved (peace be upon you))…
Ya’simuka: and protects you…
Min: from the harm of…
An-naas: people and that which they plot to kill you and hurt you. And Allah will defend you against the injuries they want to inflict upon you with His Power and His Majesty.
38. So be patient, O Beloved (peace be upon you), for you are in Our Eyes
وَٱصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ فَإِنَّكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا ۖ
So be patient with your Lord’s Judgement for you are, indeed, in Our Eyes.
Surah At-Tur, Verse 48
Tafseer e Jilani
Wasbir: O Messenger who completes The Message (peace be upon him)!
Li Hukmi Rabbika: By the Order of your Lord, be patient with these people who are malevolent. Since He gave them time till the Day of Judgement and you will be amongst them, He gave you the strength to be steadfast on the different forms of vexation from the pain and difficulties they create in you. So don’t become hasty in inciting His Anger towards them so that He may destroy them and don’t fear their plotting and betrayal towards you.
Fa innaka: For indeed...
Bi A’yunina: You are in Our Special Safeguarding and Our Surrounding and Our Fortress. We are Enough for you and your grief and difficulty that comes because of others’ malice, We are Enough for you. And don’t pay any heed to them and don’t care about their wickedness and their deceit. And don’t move away from Us because of them and their enmity towards you.
39. What is a spouse for Ghaus Pak (ra)?
قُلْ أَؤُنَبِّئُكُم بِخَيْرٍ مِّن ذَٰلِكُمْ ۚ
لِلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّـٰتٌ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا وَأَزْوَٰجٌ مُّطَهَّرَةٌ وَرِضْوَٰنٌ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ
وَٱللَّهُ بَصِيرٌۢ بِٱلْعِبَادِ
Say, O Prophet (peace be upon you), “Shall I inform you of what is better than all of this?
(‘This” being he enjoyment of ˹worldly˺ desires—women, children,1 treasures of gold and silver, fine horses, cattle, and fertile land.)
Those mindful ˹of Allah˺ will have Gardens with their Lord under which rivers flow, to stay there forever, and pure spouses, along with Allah’s pleasure.”
And Allah is All-Seeing of ˹His˺ servants,
Surah Aal e Imran, Verse 15
As a single person I looked up the word azwaaj specifically. I knew Ghaus Pak’s (ra) tafseer of the word would have something for me as well.
Wa azwaaj: Deeds and states
Verses 40-55 continued on flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/51684479886/in/dateposted-...
When my Eyes saw the last of Maryam....
I am 23 years old and married. I am young and I have been through a lot in my life.
The first time I wore the hijab, I was 18 years old. Unfortunately, I took it off because of the lack of my knowledge. It is no surprise that Allah says in the Qur’an:
“It is only those who have knowledge amongst His slaves that fear Allah.” [Surat Fatir , 35: 28]
Since my knowledge was lacking in Islam, my taqwa was weak. If someone has weak taqwa, how would they have enough fear of Allah ? And if they don’t have enough fear of Allah, then how would they put on a hijab for Allah’s pleasure?
Alhamdulillah, now I have again put on the hijab. I have been wearing the hijab and jilbab, all praise to Allah. I learned about how important the hijab is. Allah commanded the women in the Qur’an to cover. It is a commandment from Allah, and should we question it? No, we don’t question. We should listen and obey.
Under the will of Allah, a tragic moment in my life opened my eyes to reality. I was blessed with a precious little baby girl, who we named Maryam. I lost my 2-month daughter to a disease this year. (May Allah admit her to Jannah. Ameen.)
I gave my precious little pearl her last bath after death reached her. I washed her tender body and held her delicate lifeless figure. When I carried her to be put into the box, I couldn’t do it…
Another individual, my friend’s mother, covered her with the cloth. The last thing the woman put on my precious child was a hijab. My eyes filled with tears when I saw my baby girl of 2 months covered all over.
I understand, after gaining knowledge, that hijab is so important. We have to seek knowledge, and may Allah increase our taqwa! We have to understand that Allah knows best and He commanded us to cover ourselves. If we don’t cover now, when will we cover? When we die?
Death will come and that is a fact no one can debate. Are we going to get an invitation to our graves… an invitation letting us know when we are due to our destination, the narrow space in the ground? Will an alarm go on a week before we die so we can prepare ourselves ? Will someone send us an e-mail with a “deadline” title stating that we will die in 5 days ? No.
My beloved sisters, seek knowledge and follow the commandments of Allah because we were created to worship Him. My beloved sisters in Islam, put on the hijab for the sake of Allah before death comes unannounced. Death came to my little Maryam, and death will come to all of us one day.
Don’t forget my dear sisters what Allah states in the Qur’an:
“Say: The angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls. Then you shall be brought to your Lord” [as-Sajdah, 32:11]
World's Best Quran Recitation Really Amazing Recitation by Child Hafiz Surah Abasa ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Surah ‘Abasa (He Frowned) This Surah has 42 verses and it was revealed in Makkah. It is narrated from the Holy Prophet (S) that the person who recites this Surah will come out of his grave laughing on the Day of Resurrection. Writing this Surah as a talisman on deerskin and keeping it in one’s possession makes one successful in all his endeavours. If it is recited during a journey, then the traveller will return home safely. Whoever recites this Surah with Surah at-Takweer will be under the shade of the Holy Prophet (S) in Jannah. ▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۞۩ ↘Watch More↙ ۩۞ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ►►Quran Recitation The Most Soft Quran Ricetation Surah Al-Mumtahanah goo.gl/C4mTHR ►►Quran Recitation Really Beautiful Surah Ash-Sharh For Kids goo.gl/nfv8cD ►►Beautiful Quran Recitation Really Amazing Crying Surah Al-Hashr goo.gl/vSlWHw ►►Quran Recitation Really Beautiful by Child || Most Emotiona Heart Touching ll Surah Al-Mujadila goo.gl/MdVvUt ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Subscribe to QuranTV Channel for Unlimited Video 🇹🇻https://goo.gl/FNZXqW 🍀🍀🍀Enjoy and Stay Connected With US🍀🍀🍀 👥http://ift.tt/2lyUkg3 📱https://twitter.com/QuranTV7 👥https://goo.gl/daNOFQ ۞http://ift.tt/2mtlHwd 📱http://ift.tt/2mtnr8L 📱http://ift.tt/2lz47T8 ۞http://ift.tt/2mt9yr0 📱http://ift.tt/2mRiLq6 📱http://ift.tt/2lyTaB1 📱http://ift.tt/2mto5D6 📱http://ift.tt/2mtnr8L 📱http://ift.tt/2mtjfFK ۞http://ift.tt/2lz2Ifo ۩۩۩۩۩●●●●●۩۩۩۩۩ 01.Surah Al-Fatihah 02.Surah Al-Baqarah 03.Surah Al-imran 04.Surah An-Nisa 05.Surah Al-Ma'idah 06.Surah Al- An'am 07.Surah Al- A`raf 08.Surah Al-Anfal 09.Surah At-Tawbah 10.Surah Yunus 11.Surah Hud 12.Surah Yusuf 13.Surah Ar-Ra`d 14.Surah Ibrahim 15.Surah Al-Hijr 16.Surah An-Nahl 17.Surah Al-'Isra 18.Surah Al-Kahf 19.Surah Maryam 20.Surah Taha 21.Surah Al-'Anbya' 22.Surah Al-Haj 23.Surah Al-Mu'minun 24.Surah An-Nur 25.Surah Al-Furqan 26.Surah Ash-Shu`ara 27.Surah An-Naml 28.Surah Al-Qasas 29.Surah Al-`Ankabut 30.Surah Ar-Rum 31.Surah Luqman 32.Surah As-Sajdah 33.Surah Al-'Ahzab 34.Surah Saba' 35.Surah Fatir 36.Surah Ya-Sin 37.Surah As-Saffat 38.Surah Sad 39.Surah Az-Zumar 40.Surah Ghafir 41.Surah Fussilat 42.Surah Ash-Shuraa 43.Surah Az-Zukhruf 44.Surah Ad-Dukhan 45.Surah Al-Jathiyah 46.Surah Al-'Ahqaf 47.Surah Muhammad 48.Surah Al-Fath 49.Surah Al-Hujurat 50.Surah Qaf 51.Surah Adh-Dhariyat 52.Surah At-Tur 53.Surah An-Najm 54.Surah Al-Qamar 55.Surah Ar-Rahman 56.Surah Al-Waqi`ah 57.Surah Al-Hadid 58.Surah Al-Mujadila 59.Surah Al-Hashr 60.Surah Al-Mumtahanah 61.Surah As-Saf 62.Surah Al-Jumu`ah 63.Surah Al-Munafiqun 64.Surah At-Taghabun 65.Surah At-Talaq 66.Surah At-Tahrim 67.Surah Al-Mulk 68.Surah Al-Qalam 69.Surah Al-Haqqah 70.Surah Al-Ma`arij 71.Surah Nuh 72.Surah Al-Jinn 73.Surah Al-Muzzammil 74 Surah Al-Muddaththir 75.Surah Al-Qiyamah 76.Surah Al-'Insan 77.Surah Al-Mursalat 78.Surah An-Naba' 79.Surah An-Nazi'aat 80.Surah Abasa 81.Surah At-Takwir 82.Surah Al-Infitaar 83.Surah Al-Mutaffifin 84.Surah Al-Inshiqaq 85.Surah Al-Burooj 86.Surah At-Tariq 87.Surah Al-A'la 88.Surah Al-Ghaashiyah 89.Surah Al-Fajr 90.Surah Al-Balad 91.Surah Ash-Shams 92.Surah Al-Lail 93.Surah Ad-Duha 94.Surah Ash-Sharh 95.Surah At-Tin 96.Surah Al-Alaq 97.Surah Al-Qadr 98.Surah Al-Baiyyinah 99.Surah Az-Zalzalah 100.Surah Al-Aadiyaat 101.Surah Al-Qari'ah 102.Surah At-Takaathur 103.Surah Al-Asr 104.Surah Al-Humazah 105.Surah Al-Feel 106.Surah Quraish 107.Surah Al-Maa'oon 108.Surah Al-Kauthar 109.Surah Al-Kaafiroon 110.Surah An-Nasr 111.Surah Al-Masad 112.Surah Al-Ikhlaas 113.Surah Al-Falaq 114.Surah An-Naas youtu.be/vv3Fy_M7cdU
Quran Recitation The Most Soft Quran Ricetation Surah Al-Mumtahanah Hafiz Kawsar Ahmad. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Surah al-Mumtahanah (The Examined One) This Surah was revealed in Makkah and it has 13 verses. It is narrated from Imam Ali Zainul Abideen (a.s.) that if a person recites this Surah in any of his prayers (salaat), his heart will become filled with faith and belief. On the Day of Judgement, all the believing men and women will pray for him to be forgiven by Allah (S.w.T.). Recitation of this Surah increases the acuity of vision and protects the reciter and his children from insanity. The Holy Prophet (S) has said that angels send salutations and pray for the forgiveness of the one who recites this Surah. If he dies on that day then he will have died as a martyr. Drinking water in which this Surah has been dissolved also acts as a cure for some ailments. ▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۞۩ ↘Watch More↙ ۩۞ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ►►Beautiful Quran Recitation Really Amazing Crying Surah Al-Hashr goo.gl/vSlWHw ►►Quran Recitation Really Beautiful by Child || Most Emotiona Heart Touching ll Surah Al-Mujadila goo.gl/MdVvUt ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Subscribe to QuranTV Channel for Unlimited Video 🇹🇻https://goo.gl/FNZXqW 🍀🍀🍀Enjoy and Stay Connected With US🍀🍀🍀 👥http://ift.tt/2lyUkg3 📱https://twitter.com/QuranTV7 👥https://goo.gl/daNOFQ ۞http://ift.tt/2mtlHwd 📱http://ift.tt/2mtnr8L 📱http://ift.tt/2lz47T8 ۞http://ift.tt/2mt9yr0 📱http://ift.tt/2mRiLq6 📱http://ift.tt/2lyTaB1 📱http://ift.tt/2mto5D6 📱http://ift.tt/2mtnr8L 📱http://ift.tt/2mtjfFK ۞http://ift.tt/2lz2Ifo ۩۩۩۩۩●●●●●۩۩۩۩۩ 01.Surah Al-Fatihah 02.Surah Al-Baqarah 03.Surah Al-imran 04.Surah An-Nisa 05.Surah Al-Ma'idah 06.Surah Al- An'am 07.Surah Al- A`raf 08.Surah Al-Anfal 09.Surah At-Tawbah 10.Surah Yunus 11.Surah Hud 12.Surah Yusuf 13.Surah Ar-Ra`d 14.Surah Ibrahim 15.Surah Al-Hijr 16.Surah An-Nahl 17.Surah Al-'Isra 18.Surah Al-Kahf 19.Surah Maryam 20.Surah Taha 21.Surah Al-'Anbya' 22.Surah Al-Haj 23.Surah Al-Mu'minun 24.Surah An-Nur 25.Surah Al-Furqan 26.Surah Ash-Shu`ara 27.Surah An-Naml 28.Surah Al-Qasas 29.Surah Al-`Ankabut 30.Surah Ar-Rum 31.Surah Luqman 32.Surah As-Sajdah 33.Surah Al-'Ahzab 34.Surah Saba' 35.Surah Fatir 36.Surah Ya-Sin 37.Surah As-Saffat 38.Surah Sad 39.Surah Az-Zumar 40.Surah Ghafir 41.Surah Fussilat 42.Surah Ash-Shuraa 43.Surah Az-Zukhruf 44.Surah Ad-Dukhan 45.Surah Al-Jathiyah 46.Surah Al-'Ahqaf 47.Surah Muhammad 48.Surah Al-Fath 49.Surah Al-Hujurat 50.Surah Qaf 51.Surah Adh-Dhariyat 52.Surah At-Tur 53.Surah An-Najm 54.Surah Al-Qamar 55.Surah Ar-Rahman 56.Surah Al-Waqi`ah 57.Surah Al-Hadid 58.Surah Al-Mujadila 59.Surah Al-Hashr 60.Surah Al-Mumtahanah 61.Surah As-Saf 62.Surah Al-Jumu`ah 63.Surah Al-Munafiqun 64.Surah At-Taghabun 65.Surah At-Talaq 66.Surah At-Tahrim 67.Surah Al-Mulk 68.Surah Al-Qalam 69.Surah Al-Haqqah 70.Surah Al-Ma`arij 71.Surah Nuh 72.Surah Al-Jinn 73.Surah Al-Muzzammil 74 Surah Al-Muddaththir 75.Surah Al-Qiyamah 76.Surah Al-'Insan 77.Surah Al-Mursalat 78.Surah An-Naba' 79.Surah An-Nazi'aat 80.Surah Abasa 81.Surah At-Takwir 82.Surah Al-Infitaar 83.Surah Al-Mutaffifin 84.Surah Al-Inshiqaq 85.Surah Al-Burooj 86.Surah At-Tariq 87.Surah Al-A'la 88.Surah Al-Ghaashiyah 89.Surah Al-Fajr 90.Surah Al-Balad 91.Surah Ash-Shams 92.Surah Al-Lail 93.Surah Ad-Duha 94.Surah Ash-Sharh 95.Surah At-Tin 96.Surah Al-Alaq 97.Surah Al-Qadr 98.Surah Al-Baiyyinah 99.Surah Az-Zalzalah 100.Surah Al-Aadiyaat 101.Surah Al-Qari'ah 102.Surah At-Takaathur 103.Surah Al-Asr 104.Surah Al-Humazah 105.Surah Al-Feel 106.Surah Quraish 107.Surah Al-Maa'oon 108.Surah Al-Kauthar 109.Surah Al-Kaafiroon 110.Surah An-Nasr 111.Surah Al-Masad 112.Surah Al-Ikhlaas 113.Surah Al-Falaq 114.Surah An-Naas youtu.be/RoWQpRscWSg
The derivatives of (ف ط ر) apparently convey three different meanings.
1- Initiate (Iftaar) is to initiate eating after the fast.
2- Split (Iftaar) causes a split between two fasts but for which the fast would have been continuous.
3- Nature (Fitrat) natural disposition, innate character, moral constitution, inherent, by birth, inborn, etc.
Law (Deen) is abstract compared to the material universe. Laws of nature are responsible for various events in the material universe like the alternation of day and night, the phenomena of rain, life, death, etc. We cannot imagine a universe without laws governing its birth, life and death. The material universe has been created (bada'a) and proportioned (Khalaqa) by Allah SWT, it appears that Al Fatir is the Attribute responsible for assigning all laws of nature to the whole creation. Probably as Al Badi He brought into existence the material universe, as Al Fatir He assigned the laws for the peaceful existence of everything as Al Khaliq He proportioned everything according to these laws and as Rabb He sees to it that the whole creation follows His laws peacefully, with no liberty given to anything for going against even a single law, He thus fosters the whole universe. Religion, i.e. Deen too is a law for the peaceful existence of humanity, it should therefore govern every event in human life. Man is a material being with an inherent character (Fitrat).
The effort of religion is to see that the external behavior (Akhlaaq) of man coincides with his internal character (Fitrat) and this internal character moulds itself in accordance with the laws of religion (Deen) revealed by Allah SWT, the final form of which is the Quran and the way of implementing which internally and externally has been demonstrated by our Prophet Mohammad (SAWS).
So "Al Fatir" is One Who not only initiates the creation of something but also One Who imparts inherent character to His creation. As Al Fatir Allah SWT has split the creation (Big Bang), into different interdependent units, imparting to each unit or individual, its inherent character which it is bound to follow. Before this splitting the whole universe was closely joined together (Chapter 21: Verse 30)
What! Do you seek a religion (Deen, Law) other than the religion (law) of Allah, when to Him submits whoever (and whatever) is in the skies and the earth willingly and unwillingly...? (Chapter 3: Verse83)
...Is not His the creation and the command (law)?... (Chapter 7: Verse 54)
Say, 'O Allah! Initiator of creation of (Assigner of inherent character to) the skies and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen... (Chapter 39: Verse 46)
Al Fatir would therefore mean both The Initiator of the creation and The Assigner of inherent character.
This is a pastry, here with honey. It can be eaten as a meal or snack, with sweet ingredients like jam or honey, or salty toppings like cheese, meat, and vegetables which make it more like a pizza.
Beautiful Quran Recitation Really Amazing Crying Surah Al-Hashr Hafiz Kawsar Ahmad has Recited. ►►Subscribe to QuranTV Channel for unlimited Video 🇹🇻http://bit.ly/2l8e8KS ===================================== ►►Enjoy and stay connected with us!! 👥http://ift.tt/2lyUkg3 📱https://twitter.com/QuranTV7 👥https://bit.ly/2l8cfOp 📱http://ift.tt/2mtlHwd 🔊http://ift.tt/2lyRyHM 📱http://ift.tt/2mtnr8L 📱http://ift.tt/2lz47T8 🌐http://ift.tt/2mt9yr0 📱http://ift.tt/2lyTaB1 📱http://ift.tt/2mto5D6 📱http://ift.tt/2mtnr8L 📱http://ift.tt/2lz1kcA 📱http://ift.tt/2mtjfFK 📱http://ift.tt/2lz2Ifo This Channel Powerful Islamic Reminders. The Channel will be Available Quran Recitation, Quran Tilawat, Beautiful Quran Recitation, Quran Video, Quran mp3, Al Quran, Quran Pak, Quran Recitation Really Beautiful, Quran Recitation Most Beautiful, Quran Recitation Beautiful Amazing Crying, Quran recitation Really Beautiful by Child, The Most Emotional & Soft Quran Recitation Heart Touching. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Rewards, advantages and Virtues of Quran and its Recitation" Quran is that the book of steering for a Muslims life. this text may be a assortment of Quranic verses, Ahadeeth (Prophet’s Saying) and sayings of the salaf (pious those that followed the prophet) on the impressiveness of Quran. 01. Quran on Quran To begin with, there square measure several verses in Quran itself that underscore the impressiveness of Allah’s verses and therefore the Quran itself. See the following: quran surah al-israa verse eighty eight Quran – Surah Al-Israa Verse eighty eight Say: ‘If the humanity and therefore the jinn were along to provide sort of this Quran, they might not manufacture sort thence, notwithstanding they helped one another’” [Quran Al-Israa’ 17:88]1 02. The Rewards of Reciting Quran in Qiyaam Al-Layl (Night p1rayers before Fajr) 01.Surah Al-Fatihah 02.Surah Al-Baqarah 03.Surah Al-imran 04.Surah An-Nisa 05.Surah Al-Ma'idah 06.Surah Al- An'am 07.Surah Al- A`raf 08.Surah Al-Anfal 09.Surah At-Tawbah 10.Surah Yunus 11.Surah Hud 12.Surah Yusuf 13.Surah Ar-Ra`d 14.Surah Ibrahim 15.Surah Al-Hijr 16.Surah An-Nahl 17.Surah Al-'Isra 18.Surah Al-Kahf 19.Surah Maryam 20.Surah Taha 21.Surah Al-'Anbya' 22.Surah Al-Haj 23.Surah Al-Mu'minun 24.Surah An-Nur 25.Surah Al-Furqan 26.Surah Ash-Shu`ara 27.Surah An-Naml 28.Surah Al-Qasas 29.Surah Al-`Ankabut 30.Surah Ar-Rum 31.Surah Luqman 32.Surah As-Sajdah 33.Surah Al-'Ahzab 34.Surah Saba' 35.Surah Fatir 36.Surah Ya-Sin 37.Surah As-Saffat 38.Surah Sad 39.Surah Az-Zumar 40.Surah Ghafir 41.Surah Fussilat 42.Surah Ash-Shuraa 43.Surah Az-Zukhruf 44.Surah Ad-Dukhan 45.Surah Al-Jathiyah 46.Surah Al-'Ahqaf 47.Surah Muhammad 48.Surah Al-Fath 49.Surah Al-Hujurat 50.Surah Qaf 51.Surah Adh-Dhariyat 52.Surah At-Tur 53.Surah An-Najm 54.Surah Al-Qamar 55.Surah Ar-Rahman 56.Surah Al-Waqi`ah 57.Surah Al-Hadid 58.Surah Al-Mujadila 59.Surah Al-Hashr 60.Surah Al-Mumtahanah 61.Surah As-Saf 62.Surah Al-Jumu`ah 63.Surah Al-Munafiqun 64.Surah At-Taghabun 65.Surah At-Talaq 66.Surah At-Tahrim 67.Surah Al-Mulk 68.Surah Al-Qalam 69.Surah Al-Haqqah 70.Surah Al-Ma`arij 71.Surah Nuh 72.Surah Al-Jinn 73.Surah Al-Muzzammil 74 Surah Al-Muddaththir 75.Surah Al-Qiyamah 76.Surah Al-'Insan 77.Surah Al-Mursalat 78.Surah An-Naba' 79.Surah An-Nazi'aat 80.Surah Abasa 81.Surah At-Takwir 82.Surah Al-Infitaar 83.Surah Al-Mutaffifin 84.Surah Al-Inshiqaq 85.Surah Al-Burooj 86.Surah At-Tariq 87.Surah Al-A'la 88.Surah Al-Ghaashiyah 89.Surah Al-Fajr 90.Surah Al-Balad 91.Surah Ash-Shams 92.Surah Al-Lail 93.Surah Ad-Duha 94.Surah Ash-Sharh 95.Surah At-Tin 96.Surah Al-Alaq 97.Surah Al-Qadr 98.Surah Al-Baiyyinah 99.Surah Az-Zalzalah 100.Surah Al-Aadiyaat 101.Surah Al-Qari'ah 102.Surah At-Takaathur 103.Surah Al-Asr 104.Surah Al-Humazah 105.Surah Al-Feel 106.Surah Quraish 107.Surah Al-Maa'oon 108.Surah Al-Kauthar 109.Surah Al-Kaafiroon 110.Surah An-Nasr 111.Surah Al-Masad 112.Surah Al-Ikhlaas 113.Surah Al-Falaq 114.Surah An-Naas 03. Reciting Quran in Ramadan Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): The month of Ramadan within which was unconcealed the Quran, a steering for humanity and clear proofs for the steering and therefore the criterion (between right and wrong) [Quran al-Baqarah 2:185] 04. General Rewards of Reciting Quran The rewards of reciting the Quran square measure several. Associate in Nursing authentic hadith in At-Tirmithee states: Whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah, he can have a gift. which reward are going to be increased by 10. i'm not expression that “Alif, Laam, Meem” may be a letter. 05. Quran as go-between within the day of judgment The Prophet said: dua success happiness.
Apa jua jenis rahmat yang dibukakan oleh Allah kepada manusia...
maka tidak ada sesuatu pun yang dapat menahannya...
dan apa jua yang ditahan oleh Allah ...
maka tidak ada sesuatu pun yang dapat melepaskannya sesudah itu...
(Surah Fatir:2)
Beautiful Quran Recitation Really Amazing Crying Surah Al-Hashr Hafiz Kawsar Ahmad has Recited. ►►Subscribe to QuranTV Channel for unlimited Video 🇹🇻http://bit.ly/2l8e8KS ===================================== ►►Enjoy and stay connected with us!! 👥http://ift.tt/2lyUkg3 📱https://twitter.com/QuranTV7 👥https://bit.ly/2l8cfOp 📱http://ift.tt/2mtlHwd 🔊http://ift.tt/2lyRyHM 📱http://ift.tt/2mtnr8L 📱http://ift.tt/2lz47T8 🌐http://ift.tt/2mt9yr0 📱http://ift.tt/2lyTaB1 📱http://ift.tt/2mto5D6 📱http://ift.tt/2mtnr8L 📱http://ift.tt/2lz1kcA 📱http://ift.tt/2mtjfFK 📱http://ift.tt/2lz2Ifo This Channel Powerful Islamic Reminders. The Channel will be Available Quran Recitation, Quran Tilawat, Beautiful Quran Recitation, Quran Video, Quran mp3, Al Quran, Quran Pak, Quran Recitation Really Beautiful, Quran Recitation Most Beautiful, Quran Recitation Beautiful Amazing Crying, Quran recitation Really Beautiful by Child, The Most Emotional & Soft Quran Recitation Heart Touching. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Rewards, advantages and Virtues of Quran and its Recitation" Quran is that the book of steering for a Muslims life. this text may be a assortment of Quranic verses, Ahadeeth (Prophet’s Saying) and sayings of the salaf (pious those that followed the prophet) on the impressiveness of Quran. 01. Quran on Quran To begin with, there square measure several verses in Quran itself that underscore the impressiveness of Allah’s verses and therefore the Quran itself. See the following: quran surah al-israa verse eighty eight Quran – Surah Al-Israa Verse eighty eight Say: ‘If the humanity and therefore the jinn were along to provide sort of this Quran, they might not manufacture sort thence, notwithstanding they helped one another’” [Quran Al-Israa’ 17:88]1 02. The Rewards of Reciting Quran in Qiyaam Al-Layl (Night p1rayers before Fajr) 01.Surah Al-Fatihah 02.Surah Al-Baqarah 03.Surah Al-imran 04.Surah An-Nisa 05.Surah Al-Ma'idah 06.Surah Al- An'am 07.Surah Al- A`raf 08.Surah Al-Anfal 09.Surah At-Tawbah 10.Surah Yunus 11.Surah Hud 12.Surah Yusuf 13.Surah Ar-Ra`d 14.Surah Ibrahim 15.Surah Al-Hijr 16.Surah An-Nahl 17.Surah Al-'Isra 18.Surah Al-Kahf 19.Surah Maryam 20.Surah Taha 21.Surah Al-'Anbya' 22.Surah Al-Haj 23.Surah Al-Mu'minun 24.Surah An-Nur 25.Surah Al-Furqan 26.Surah Ash-Shu`ara 27.Surah An-Naml 28.Surah Al-Qasas 29.Surah Al-`Ankabut 30.Surah Ar-Rum 31.Surah Luqman 32.Surah As-Sajdah 33.Surah Al-'Ahzab 34.Surah Saba' 35.Surah Fatir 36.Surah Ya-Sin 37.Surah As-Saffat 38.Surah Sad 39.Surah Az-Zumar 40.Surah Ghafir 41.Surah Fussilat 42.Surah Ash-Shuraa 43.Surah Az-Zukhruf 44.Surah Ad-Dukhan 45.Surah Al-Jathiyah 46.Surah Al-'Ahqaf 47.Surah Muhammad 48.Surah Al-Fath 49.Surah Al-Hujurat 50.Surah Qaf 51.Surah Adh-Dhariyat 52.Surah At-Tur 53.Surah An-Najm 54.Surah Al-Qamar 55.Surah Ar-Rahman 56.Surah Al-Waqi`ah 57.Surah Al-Hadid 58.Surah Al-Mujadila 59.Surah Al-Hashr 60.Surah Al-Mumtahanah 61.Surah As-Saf 62.Surah Al-Jumu`ah 63.Surah Al-Munafiqun 64.Surah At-Taghabun 65.Surah At-Talaq 66.Surah At-Tahrim 67.Surah Al-Mulk 68.Surah Al-Qalam 69.Surah Al-Haqqah 70.Surah Al-Ma`arij 71.Surah Nuh 72.Surah Al-Jinn 73.Surah Al-Muzzammil 74 Surah Al-Muddaththir 75.Surah Al-Qiyamah 76.Surah Al-'Insan 77.Surah Al-Mursalat 78.Surah An-Naba' 79.Surah An-Nazi'aat 80.Surah Abasa 81.Surah At-Takwir 82.Surah Al-Infitaar 83.Surah Al-Mutaffifin 84.Surah Al-Inshiqaq 85.Surah Al-Burooj 86.Surah At-Tariq 87.Surah Al-A'la 88.Surah Al-Ghaashiyah 89.Surah Al-Fajr 90.Surah Al-Balad 91.Surah Ash-Shams 92.Surah Al-Lail 93.Surah Ad-Duha 94.Surah Ash-Sharh 95.Surah At-Tin 96.Surah Al-Alaq 97.Surah Al-Qadr 98.Surah Al-Baiyyinah 99.Surah Az-Zalzalah 100.Surah Al-Aadiyaat 101.Surah Al-Qari'ah 102.Surah At-Takaathur 103.Surah Al-Asr 104.Surah Al-Humazah 105.Surah Al-Feel 106.Surah Quraish 107.Surah Al-Maa'oon 108.Surah Al-Kauthar 109.Surah Al-Kaafiroon 110.Surah An-Nasr 111.Surah Al-Masad 112.Surah Al-Ikhlaas 113.Surah Al-Falaq 114.Surah An-Naas 03. Reciting Quran in Ramadan Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): The month of Ramadan within which was unconcealed the Quran, a steering for humanity and clear proofs for the steering and therefore the criterion (between right and wrong) [Quran al-Baqarah 2:185] 04. General Rewards of Reciting Quran The rewards of reciting the Quran square measure several. Associate in Nursing authentic hadith in At-Tirmithee states: Whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah, he can have a gift. which reward are going to be increased by 10. i'm not expression that “Alif, Laam, Meem” may be a letter. 05. Quran as go-between within the day of judgment The Prophet said: dua success happiness. youtu.be/ydLSmc0g8LA
Allah is the Initiator of the creation of the Universe as "Fatir" Who brought into existence something which was not existing earlier in His capacity as "Al Badi". The raw material which constitutes the universe is processed and proportioned by Him as "Al Khaliq" and in this process He removes the unwanted things as "Bari" to give shape to the desired end product as "Musawwir". This whole process can be illustrated by the following example.
We prepare tea by boiling proportionate amount of tea leaves and water for some time. This proportioning can be compared to "Khilqat", we then strain off the tea leaves to obtain the decoction, this process of freeing the extraction from the boiled tea leaves is comparable to "Bara'atun" and the decoction is the desired end product, i.e. "Surat".
The Attribute "Al Bari" thus means, a Person Who purifies, by removing unwanted things to produce the desired end product.
" Tidakkah engkau melihat bahawa Allah menurunkan hujan dari langit lalu dengan air itu Kami hasilkan buah-buahan yang beraneka macam jenisnya. Dan di antara gunung-gunung itu ada garis-garis putih dan merah yang beraneka macam warnanya dan ada (pula) yang hitam pekat. " [Fatir : 27]
" Dengan (air hujan) itu Dia menumbuhkan untuk kamu tanam-tanaman, zaitun, kurma,anggur dan segala macam buah buahan. Sungguh pada yang demikian itu terdapat tanda (kebesaran Allah) bagi orang yang berfikir. " [Al-Nahl : 11]
========================================================================= The lighting not pretty good actually, but, this is the best that I can shoot. Just bouncing the flash-light to the left in TTL mode.
Still, Im in exam week and my first paper on 3rd November followed by 7th, 10th and 12th. Wish me luck guys and all the best to all Exam candidates. Whenever the exam finish, I might enjoy the summer here in Auckland (perhaps) before I flying back to Malaysia on 20th.
Happy exam and study. I ask from Allah to make it successful for us. Insyallah.
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I dedicate this picture to my Ex-Roommate for his 22nd Birthday. Happy Birthday mate. May Allah bless us. Insyallah.