Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera – Essentials of Islamic Spirituality- The Pledge and the Need for a Shaykh
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If you can't do a hundred La ilaha
illallah day, fine, do 50.
Start with 25.
Just be regular with it.
And you have to fix the time.
Otherwise, if it's like, I'll do it.
You'll wait until you go to sleep, and
then you might just do it.
And that's not the right way to do
it.
Just fix times for it.
And I found that for a good 10
-15 minutes of dhikr, you just, the best
time is fajr time.
What about if you have problems waking up
for fajr, then sort that out.
But that's the best time to do it.
Right?
It's an amazing time.
And it's for dhikr anyway.
After fajr time, it's for dhikr anyway.
And before fajr, if you can make that.
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem.
Alhamdulillah wa salatu wa salamu ala Sayyidina Muhammad
wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'in amma
ba'd.
We continue with one more lesson, inshallah, from
this book.
So we discussed as the final point from
this Essentials of Islamic Spirituality, the Path to
Perfection.
We were on page 24.
We discussed the nature of the pledge.
Usually in tasawwuf, when they give, take the
pledge, when they give a pledge to the
shaykh, what's that all about?
That was the discussion.
Now he's talking about the mode of the
pledge.
How does the bay'ah take place?
So he says, the pledge is enacted by
the shaykh, taking into his right hand, the
right hand of the seeker.
I mean, it doesn't have to be just
right hand, right hand.
It could be both hands together.
For some reason he mentions just right hand
here.
If the group contracting the pledge is large,
then the shaykh usually uses a length of
cloth onto which each member of the group
holds with his right hand.
So when there's several people, then you can't
hold everybody's hands together.
So they just lay out a cloth or
something, and then everybody holds that.
It's just showing a connection.
If I just pledge something to you like
that, without signing on anything, or without shaking
on anything, it doesn't seem strong enough.
It doesn't seem ratified, does it?
With humans, you shake on something, but you
sign on something.
So it's that kind of an idea.
Okay, you know, we're gonna make this agreement
and take this pledge while the hands are
held, while there's a connection.
It's just stronger that way.
It's not necessary.
But that's just, humans take that more seriously.
Right?
It's just the emotion of the human being,
the psychology of the human being, the physical
touch.
There's just so many physiological and emotional and
probably a spiritual aspect in there.
You know, the fact that Jibreel alayhis salaam,
when he came to deliver the first revelation,
the first wahi of بسم ربك الذي خلق
He insisted on embracing the Prophet ﷺ three
times in this really, really intense way.
There has to be some reason for that,
that the angels don't do redundant things.
I just need to hug you.
They don't do redundant things.
There's a reason that happens.
So, and that probably heart to heart.
I don't know where an angel's heart is,
but you know, there has to be something
to do with that.
So anyway, the Prophet ﷺ used to take
the pledge with his hands as well.
So, when there's no hands, then you use
a cloth.
Now, what happens with women?
You can't start holding hands with women to
do that.
So, ladies who contract the pledge do so
from behind the screen.
They can also hold, usually they do it
through a cloth.
Cloth is thrown to the other side and
they do that as well.
An unmarriageable kinsman of the woman should also
be present at the pledge ceremony.
So, make sure you're not, if anybody's doing
this and you're going to a shaykh and
he's alone and the sister's alone and it's
behind the curtain, it should be avoided, even
if it's behind the curtain.
Preferably, there should be some mahram there, at
least some other men there, something of that
nature.
Otherwise, there's just too much abuse and too
much wrong that can take place and unfortunately
has taken place.
So, it's best to avoid that by just
staying a good distance.
This relationship as opposed to you know, as
I said, you don't have to take a
pledge to study hadith with somebody or study
with a fiqh teacher.
You don't need to take a pledge.
You might need to sign up on a
course or something, right?
But this is seen as a very different.
It's a much more of a it's just
a lot more there's just a lot more
to it.
So, that's why when it comes to women
and men in this then you have to
have a lot of the a lot of
the safeguards.
Otherwise, it's just no barakah, and then it
just goes completely wrong and there's just been
a lot of problems with that.
It just works out to be at the
major detriment to everybody.
So, make sure that this happens properly, especially
when it's with women.
Aisha radhiallahu anha says, The messenger of Allah
ﷺ never touched the hand of a woman,
though he took bay'ah from them.
He took pledges from them, but never touched
the hand of a woman.
But he would take the pledge from her.
Upon having made the pledge, he would say,
Go, for I have taken the pledge with
you.
So, he would confirm that the pledge is
taken, though no touching has taken place.
Sahih Muslim Bukhari and Abu Dawood.
Right, it is for this reason that when
entering women into the pledge, the sheikhs do
so verbally or by means of a cloth
which is spread from the sheikh to the
women behind the screen.
This is the method of taking pledges when
in the presence of a sheikh.
Any sheikh tells you that, no, I'm gonna
give you special attention and you can actually
touch my hand.
I'm gonna leave gloves on or something like
that.
Just run a mile.
Right, you don't need that special attention.
That's very wrong special attention.
Why do I mention this so emphatically is
because there have been problems in this and
we just want to avoid that completely.
Those who are not able to present themselves
personally to the sheikh.
Now, how do you, if a sheikh is
in another country and you know, so there's
people who want to take the bay'ah
and in another country.
So, my usual thing to say to them
is can you find somebody locally?
It is always good to be able to
sit in a gathering, physically attend.
That's how it used to always be, right?
That's how it used to be usually.
Yeah, in the past there used to be
sheikhs in another country, but then it was
through letters and things like that.
That's become a bit easier, but mostly it
was just local.
You just attended the gathering.
But in a lot of cases they just
don't have any.
There's many cities around the world in this
country, but there is no sheikh.
There is nobody with ijazah to do this,
right?
Or there may be, but there's just no
congeniality.
There's no harmony.
There's no feeling of connection or something like
that.
Then you don't want to do it just
for the sake of that.
A lot of people they do bay'ah
with somebody just because they're a great person,
though they may never see them again in
their life.
So that's not useful.
It needs to be somebody you can at
least talk to and somebody who you think
will understand you and you understand them.
All of that will be discussed later anyway,
but what happens if, so then sometimes you
just have to do it.
You just have to take bay'ah with
somebody who's in another country.
So you do that over the phone or
over the internet or over social media or
something like that.
Those who are not able to present themselves
personally to the sheikh can take the pledge
by means of a letter or through the
agency of a responsible and trustworthy person.
I think we might need to update this.
This was written at a time when there
was no internet and social media, right?
How do you get the physical touch online?
There's many cases where that's happened online just
like that, through a letter, through online, and
then when they actually physically meet then they
do the physical bay'ah.
That's completely fine as well.
Because it's not necessary, is it?
It's just a part of barakah inshallah to
do that.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the occasion
of Bay'at al-Ridwan made the pledge
of Uthman radhiAllahu anhu in his absence.
He got somebody else, meaning that he took
the pledge for Uthman radhiAllahu anhu.
He took the pledge for him.
So that's by proxy.
But nowadays you can just do it on
the phone.
You don't need to tell somebody else to
take the pledge for you, right?
So on this occasion the Prophet ﷺ placed
his right hand upon his left hand and
announced that he had made the pledge for
Uthman radhiAllahu anhu.
Assumption is that one of his hands represented
himself and the other one represented Uthman radhiAllahu
anhu.
The Prophet ﷺ can do that.
The pledge in absence of the seeker is
therefore termed Bay'ah Uthmani.
Let's do a Bay'ah Uthmani, right?
Or the Uthmani pledge.
Right, now what happens afterwards?
Once you take the pledge, then what?
Instruction upon taking the pledge.
Certain instructions are given to the seeker at
the time of the pledge.
First, so this is the usual stuff.
When you take a pledge, what's the purpose
of it?
What are the initial instructions?
Usually it's the makeup and fulfillment of the
qadha, of the prayers and fast that have
been missed by the seeker.
Because you may tell them to do thousands
of different adhkar, but if they've got a
balance of missed prayers and fast, then all
of those things are going to get you
extra rewards, but then this is a massive
sin that has not been corrected.
So, one of the first things is how
many qadha prayers do you have?
How many qadha fast do you have?
Let us start a regimen to finish that
off, to get those done.
Along with that you do your adhkar and
so on.
So you do both things.
The missed prayer should be made up by
performing one with each one of the five
daily prayers of the same time.
That's one way to do it.
Personally, I've found it with many people easier
to just focus on one prayer at a
time, like fajr and you just do, you
know, hundreds of fajrs until you've done them.
So you could do ten fajrs a day,
two with each prayer, two and two extra
with fajr prayer, dhuhr prayer, and then once
you've done your fajr prayer, you're like, oh
alhamdulillah, I don't have any fajr prayers left.
Let me do my dhuhrs now.
There's this psychological fulfillment and accomplishments that you
get with that.
The missed prayer should be made up.
Yeah, we did that.
For instance, along with the maghrib prayer of
the day, a make-up of one maghrib
prayer should be made.
During isha, the make-up of a missed
witr prayer should also be made.
In making up the missed prayers, only the
fajr and witr are made up.
However, it is also possible to make up
a number of missed prayers collectively at one
time or in a single day.
In this way, the missed prayers of a
person can be discharged quickly.
I find usually that if you travel a
lot, one of the best times to make
up missed prayers is when you're traveling because
you don't have to do sunnah prayers when
you're traveling.
You can, but you don't have to.
You just do qadha prayers instead of even
the sunnah mu'akkadah.
And especially when you go for umrah or
hajj, mashallah, your job is prayers anyway.
What else is your job aside from tawaf
and prayers?
You don't have, yeah, I guess eating, right?
And shopping.
But the main job you're there is to
pray.
So you just get a lot out of
the way, alhamdulillah.
Second is discharging any monetary obligations.
Do you have outstanding debts?
Do you owe people?
Such discharge is either by making the due
payments or by obtaining the pardon of those
whose rights are involved.
Third is fully guarding the eyes, ears, and
the tongue from the unlawful.
So that's usually the third point.
Totally abstaining from all unlawful haram and doubtful
wealth.
That's the next point.
That's one of these points.
Then the next point is having an eventually
focusing on having an appearance and dressing in
conformity with the sunnah.
So as far as possible, change the way
you operate in the world.
Sort out your spiritual haqq of Allah, like
salah and fasting.
Sort out huquq al-ibad, which is sort
out your debts with people.
Thereafter that, sort out the personal vices, like
looking at haram, etc.
And eating haram and earning haram, sort that
out.
And then focus on how you dress and
present yourself to be in conformity with the
sunnah as far as possible.
Weed out any bid'at and innovation.
Avoid innovation and non-Islamic customs and practices,
especially on occasions of happiness and sorrow, because
that's when it usually happens.
People are completely fine when it comes to
weddings.
Suddenly people think God looks the other way.
So it's alright.
It's just the one day of your life.
Let them do it.
Do it.
God is watching.
Right?
We just don't have any of those days.
The Jews have.
They have Purim.
They can play loud music and do all
sorts of crazy stuff on the street on
that day.
Because they say God looks the other way.
Allah doesn't ever look away for us, so
it doesn't work, subhanAllah.
Right?
If you go to Stamford Hill on that
day, it's quite interesting, isn't it?
Yeah.
But yeah, we don't have that kind of
day.
We have days of happiness, but you still
can't drink alcohol.
Refraining from unlawful methods in all affairs.
Constantly bearing in mind not to harm anybody
by means of one's hand or tongue.
That's the next point.
Don't try to make it that don't harm
anybody, that nobody gets harmed by your tongue.
I mean, I know that might be difficult
sometimes, but at least intentionally, you don't want
to intentionally harm somebody with your tongue or
physically with your body.
Avoiding hurting anybody and then refraining from vain
association.
Really reconsider who your friends are, who people
are.
There's people, they'll say, I just can't stop
doing X, Y, and Z.
I'm really trying.
I said, why can't you stop?
It's because my friends do it.
The sacrifice is you're gonna have to give
up those friends or you're gonna have to
change them.
You've got two options.
You're either gonna have to influence them, if
you're an influencer in your own realm at
least, or you're gonna have to just make
new friends.
There's no way that you can have friends
who do weird things and you not feel
obliged to do that, if you're not bold
enough to take a different step.
It's just, you know, you're gonna have to
start minimizing and hopefully benefit them.
Otherwise, you're gonna have to do something else.
There's just no other way.
I can't wake up.
There's another thing.
I can't wake up for Fajr.
I said, what time do you go to
sleep?
He said about one o'clock.
I said, what do you want me to
do for you?
Miracle.
Start going to sleep early and you'll wake
up.
You want to go to sleep about one
o'clock and you want some taweez or
something, special dua that you wake up for
Fajr?
I don't, unfortunately, I don't have that.
Right, most of the time when people say
they miss Fajr and they can't wake up,
it's usually for that reason that they're just
sleeping late.
And then meeting people according to need only
and abstaining from unnecessary conversation, constantly remembering Allah
through reciting the pure formula, Kalima Tayyiba, La
ilaha illallah, there is no God but Allah,
while walking, sitting, reclining and lying down.
Ultimately, what we want to achieve is that
we are saying La ilaha illallah as much
as possible in every time we're not speaking
to somebody.
Because when we're walking to work or to
masjid or from one room to the next,
we're not doing anything anyway, and La ilaha
illallah doesn't stop you from thinking or moving
or doing what you're going to do anyway.
It's just an addition and an amazing addition
because it's purifying us, elevating us and making
us closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And then that just means that inshallah, if
we die in any state, La ilaha illallah
is going to be there because we're so
used to doing it anyway.
What is the chance that we're going to
die in Salat?
If we're praying five times a day, that's
probably about, it's a quick prayer, there's about
30 to 40 minutes a day that we're
praying.
What's the chance of 40 minutes out of
24 hours that we're going to die in
those 40 minutes?
It's not that much, is it?
If somebody's doing mashallah, two, three hours of
dhikr a day, then he's got a bigger
chance.
And if somebody is always remembering Allah somehow
or the other, consciousness is there.
Like for multiple hours a day, then it
just makes it more likely that a person
is going to die in a state of
dhikr.
And may Allah grant us that.
The words Muhammadur Rasulullah, so La ilaha illallah
is what you have to repeat often and
Muhammadur Rasulullah, Muhammadur Rasulullah's message should be added
after every few recitations.
Because the main dhikr is La ilaha illallah.
But then every now and then you add
the Muhammadur Rasulullah as well.
After each prayer, now these are some basic
stuff, after each prayer recite ayatul kursi.
And again, you can just do that as
you're walking out of the masjid.
If you don't have time to sit and
do it, right, you just make it that,
okay, I'm gonna do my dua, I'm gonna
get up, and I'm gonna read ayatul kursi
as I'm going out.
Followed by the tasbih fatimi, now that you
probably want to sit down and do it
before you leave, that's a bit more complicated.
That's the 33, 33 and 34 times.
Subhanallah, alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar.
Then if time allows, recite what they call
the third kalima, which is Subhanallahi, walhamdulillahi, wa
la ilaha illallah, Allahu Akbar.
Transcendent is Allah, and all praise is for
Allah, and there is no God but Allah,
and Allah is the greatest.
A hundred times after the Dhuhr, Maghrib, and
Isha prayers.
La ilaha illallah, subhanallahi, walhamdulillahi, wa la ilaha
illallah, Allahu Akbar, which essentially includes Subhanallah, alhamdulillah,
Allahu Akbar, and la ilaha illallah.
It's the most powerful for adhkar.
After Isha, at the time of going to
bed, engage in self reckoning and contemplation of
death, that eventually I'm going to die, just
like I'm about to go away from consciousness
right now.
So slowly, slowly add these on.
If anybody wants to take a picture of
this afterwards, you can.
And I would then just say that you
want to add eventually to that Yasin in
the morning, and then after, if you really
can do this, after Maghrib, you do Suratul
Waqi'ah, and after Isha, you do Suratul
Mulk.
Those who are hafiz, those who've got time,
who've memorized this, it's very easy.
It becomes a habit.
There's a lot of benefit in this for
the purpose of this world and the hereafter.
I know this is a lot, but you
can take it slowly, implement one after the
other.
Otherwise, just remember, our life is only going
to get busier.
It usually just gets busier until a person
retires, if they retire, and then they get
themselves involved in other things.
So what I've finally realized in life is,
life is just going to get busier.
There's nothing you can do about it.
So what you do is, you implement that
I need to do X, Y, and Z,
extra things, regardless of the situation, whether I'm
busy that day or not.
My Awwaabeen prayer has to be done.
I must do my dhikr of 15 minutes
this time of the day.
I must do Suratul Mulk after Isha, for
example.
Slowly, slowly, when you implement that, slowly, slowly,
then it doesn't matter how busy your life
is, because these things are like food, I
must do this.
Otherwise, if we leave it to chance, we're
only getting busier.
That's just the way the world works.
It just sucks you in because you're a
good businessman, you're going to find more business
opportunities.
You do good at work, you're going to
get a promotion.
You're going to become a manager, you're going
to become a director, you're going to get
consumed by another company, headhunted.
It's only going to get busier.
It doesn't get easier, does it?
Unless you're a loser, then you just get
knocked out.
So it's only going to get busier.
So I've realized that if you don't make
this a priority, that this is what I
must do, then life is just going to
overtake us.
I'm saying this even though you're in the
religious field, I'm telling you this from a
religious perspective.
Even from a religious field perspective, it only
gets busier.
Surely, religious stuff must be good, yes, but
teaching somebody is not the same as doing
your own dhikr.
Going to give lectures is not the same
as doing your own dhikr.
It's a very personal thing to do your
own dhikr.
Giving a lecture is wonderful, but that requires
a lot more effort to make that the
same benefit as doing your own dhikr.
It's kind of interesting.
Have some firm things that you must do.
Start off small.
If you can't do 100 la ilaha illallah
day, fine, do 50.
Start with 25.
Just be regular with it.
And you have to fix the time, otherwise
if it's like, I'll do it, you'll wait
until you go to sleep and then you
might just do it.
And that's not the right way to do
it.
Just fix times for it.
And I found that for a good 10
-15 minutes of dhikr, the best time is
fajr time.
But if you have problems waking up for
fajr, then sort that out.
But that's the best time to do it.
It's an amazing time and it's for dhikr
anyway.
After fajr time it's for dhikr anyway.
And before fajr if you can make that.
So that's essentially what he's saying.
Now the next section is, we'll do a
bit of this, which is what do you
get from having a shaykh?
I think that's what he's covering in this,
is that what's the benefit of having a
shaykh?
So he says the need for a shaykh.
It's a scheme of things that perfection cannot
be attained without an experienced instructor.
Very few people become professional and experts in
a topic without a mentor or a teacher
or an instructor.
Just self-study.
You can.
It is a possibility.
It's not impossible.
But most people need somebody to do that
with.
It's just easier, isn't it, when you have
somebody to correct you, guide you, direct you,
it's just easier.
That's in any field, right?
An ustadh.
Thus when one is endowed with the guidance
to enter into the path, one should search
for an instructor of the path so that
one may reach the true goal through the
medium of this instructor's graceful guidance and excellent
companionship.
Suhbah.
There's a poem.
Oh my heart, if you desire to undertake
this journey, then hold on to the garment
of the guide.
Whoever trod the path of love should, in
my opinion, pass his life without attaining love
because you just don't know the tricks of
the trade.
There's too much, too many problems and stumbling
blocks on the way.
Hakeem ul-Ummah, Rahimahullah, therefore said, What has
anyone attained perfection through books alone?
You get inspired through books.
It definitely helps you.
It inspires you.
I remember when I worked on this book
and when I finished it, I felt wonderful.
It's inspiring.
But it's not the same as a human
being having somebody that you can speak to
and so on.
It is simple to understand that one cannot
become a carpenter without sitting in the company
of a carpenter.
One cannot become a tailor without being in
the company of a tailor.
I mean, you can do that with YouTube
tailors nowadays.
It's just that it's become a bit of
a replacement.
You can become a cook by just watching
people cook online, right?
But they are your guides then, isn't it?
Still using somebody.
And one cannot become a calligrapher without being
in the company of a calligrapher.
In short, one cannot attain perfection or become
an expert in something without the companionship of
an expert.
The companionship of a pious man will induce
piety in you.
So you see, with everything else, you can
watch them do it.
But when it comes to a shaykh relationship,
it's not just watching them do it.
There's a spiritual connection and benefit that comes
about.
Because the understanding is that if he's connected
to a silsila, a chain up to the
Prophet ﷺ, then there's some blessing in that
that you will attain as well, right?
So it's different from being with a cook,
a professional cook.
You learn their strategies in that, right?
But there's no spirituality coming there, is there?
So that's the difference here.
Similarly, the companionship of an evil man will
induce evil in you.
It just has to happen that way.
He who searches for association with Allah Most
High has to acquire the association of the
noble friends of Allah, the awliya kiram.
A short while spent in the companionship of
the friends of Allah is more noble and
superior to a century of unostentatious obedience.
Because there, it's just fraught with possible problems,
whereas this, as long as you've got the
right shaykh, then it's fine.
A companion is superior to a century of
asceticism and obedience.
But it kind of underscores what we're talking
about.
The following letter from a student and reply
given by Hakimul Ummah demonstrates the need for
a shaykh.
So the letter is, I am presently completing
the Dawratul Hadith, which is the final year
of the Islamic education wherein the six authentic
hadith collections are studied, of the alim class
usually.
For quite a while, I have intended to
write, but a certain thing prevented me from
doing so.
I'm a voracious reader of your writings, and
I have been engaged in reading your books
since my childhood.
By the grace of Allah, I have benefited
much.
I have learned one particular thing from your
writings, that the commands of the shariah are
all voluntary.
Since the commands are volitional, it follows that
the command to abstain are likewise volitional.
Thus, the remedy for all spiritual ailments is
to refrain volitionally.
You're basically saying that it's likewise evil, it's
up to you if you want to do
it or not.
It's just choice that you have to do
this or that.
I have always adopted this method for myself.
The question now is this, since this principle
has been learnt from the shaykhs of the
spiritual path, does the need still remain to
refer to the shaykhs and obtain remedies from
them?
Why don't you just be careful in what
you're doing, do good deeds, avoid bad deeds,
do it for yourself, and for quite a
while regarding this matter, I trust that you
will advise me so that I may practice
accordingly.
After realizing this general principle, what is the
need for obtaining the diagnosis and prescription of
a shaykh?
I mean if you know the Qur'an
and sunnah and you're an alim even, what's
the point?
Why do you need a shaykh for you
know what's right and wrong, just do right
and abstain from the wrong.
Simple, isn't it?
If it was that simple.
I hope that if I have erred, it's
all volitional, all up to you to follow.
However, errors can be made in this regard.
At times, what has already been acquired is
considered as not having been yet attained.
It's a bit complicated, right?
And sometimes vice versa.
For example, a person intends to attain concentration
based on humility in prayer.
And in reality, he then attains this concentration.
But while having attained this, he is simultaneously
afflicted with an abundance of stray thoughts.
Right?
So he's got concentration, but he still has
these stray thoughts.
This person then regards the accident of such
thoughts as contradictory to concentration.
So he thinks he doesn't have concentration.
He mostly has concentration, but he has these
pings of these stray thoughts.
So he thinks I don't have concentration.
He thus considers that he has not attained
concentration.
Furthermore, in the initial stages of worship, stray
thoughts are non-volitional, which means they come
at their own accord.
Because sometimes we think of thoughts, but other
times thoughts just keep coming into our mind.
So he says that at the initial stages
when you get into worship, there will be
stray thoughts that will come to you.
But later on, the worshipper is diverted towards
volitional stray thoughts.
Yet he is deceived into believing that such
thoughts are of the non-volitional kind of
the initial stages.
This is getting a bit more complicated.
He thus considers himself to have concentration, while
in actual fact he has lost concentration.
So if you don't have somebody you can
reflect these things off, you will think that
I don't have concentration or I do have
concentration.
So you have concentration but you're still going
to get a few thoughts and you thought
because of these thoughts I don't have concentration.
But you actually do have concentration because nobody
is 100% perfect.
But you don't know that.
You think it's perfection to have no thoughts
at all.
But humans always have thoughts.
You just have to know how to deal
with them.
So you're going to be confused about whether
you're concentrating or not concentrating.
At times, the person will consider what is
infirm to be firm.
For example, persevering and sober in the face
of a few light mishaps.
He will consider himself to have attained the
state of ridaa bil qadha which means satisfaction
with the divine decree.
A little few issues came up and mashallah
he was very patient with them and he
thought that's it.
I've got ridaa bil qadha.
You know, I got the sabr and then
suddenly something big comes and he gets knocked
out.
That feels worse than if you know you're
not there yet.
Then he says, his contentment in the face
of these slight misfortunes leads him to believe
that he has attained advanced capability in firmness
and steadfastness.
But then when some great calamity overtakes him
and he fails to be contented, he still
labors under the deception that he has attained
the desired degree and goal of firmness and
he thinks that's okay now.
The consequence of regarding the attained as unattained
is then frustration and depression which in turn
induces one to become careless and negligent thinking
I can't really attain it.
I attained it and I got messed up
again.
So that means I didn't it can't be
attained but you actually hadn't attained the proper
status.
You'd only attained level one and thus the
attained become truly eliminated.
Then the harm of the opposite condition meaning
considering the unattained as attained is deprivation.
Since one labors under the false notion that
one has already achieved the goal one does
not make any effort in this direction.
So after you've done sabr a few times
you think okay I don't need to make
any extra efforts.
The same danger lurks in considering in firm
what is firm that makes one remain careless
not making any effort or arrangement to attain
the desired goal of firmness and steadfastness.
For example, sometimes one commits the error of
believing that the state of firmness has not
been attained despite it having been attained.
For example, one combated unlawful lust during a
time when the effects of one's dhikr was
dominant.
He was doing a lot of dhikr and
Mashallah the effect of that was made it
easy for him to combat his lust looking
at haram or speaking to people he should
not be speaking to etc.
As a result, the condition of unlawful lust
remains suppressed so that one's attention was totally
diverted from it.
There are two separate things one is lot
of dhikr and the other one is avoiding
looking at haram or speaking in haram.
Because of this he got this under control
but it wasn't independently under control it was
only under control because of the dhikr.
Now what happens later when the effect of
his dhikr decreased because he started doing it
less maybe and the natural propensities reasserted themselves
even if in a slight degree so now
he can't focus his gaze he can't avert
his gaze anymore and he thinks oh no
I thought I had assorted I thought I
was assorted you know I thought I was
accomplished so one is misled to believe that
one's striving against the lower self has gone
wasted I wasted all that time it didn't
really benefit me it's just you got it
right you hadn't focused on this that was
just the benefit of this you should have
independently focused on that as well they're two
separate things though one helps the other do
you understand that yeah hence the return of
the evil propensity the consequence of this feeling
is that one loses hope and is overtaken
by stagnation and retrogression I think we're all
dealing with a lot of these you know
challenges the above are merely some examples of
error and resultant harm a qualified sheikh by
virtue of his insight and experience discerns the
reality of such states when informed by the
seeker and guides him aright highlighting for him
the errors and the pitfalls the seeker is
thus saved from these dangers assuming that the
spiritual you'll tell him that look no no
it's because you're not doing as much zikr
anymore that's why this happened you need to
focus independently on that assuming that the spiritual
traveler because of his intelligence and correct understanding
discerns the pitfall himself then too he will
not attain tranquility and peace of mind because
of inexperience so you might be very clever
and figure these you might have a lot
of psychological understanding you might figure these things
out but you may never be 100%
because you don't know because it may mess
up the next day he will remain perplexed
and perplexity impedes the attainment of the goal
this is the duty of the sheikh's office
more than this is not his responsibility nevertheless
in kindness that's what the sheikh is supposed
to do just help you think your way
through these things nevertheless in kindness he performs
another function as well in realizing the goal
or the initial stage of the goal or
in eliminating an evil attribute the seeker of
truth undergoes great stress and difficulty although repeated
subjection to such difficulty finally is transformed into
ease but the sheikh sometimes as a favor
devises such a scheme that makes the difficulty
disappear from the very inception because they they
should have experience they should be able to
tell you the easier way to get through
a challenge comes okay deal with it this
way and it just it just feels so
much easier when another experienced person tells you
no do it this way you know if
you have a little pain here or here
or there's a little lump right a small
protrusion and your doctor's like you know what
I don't want to say anything but we
need to take you for a test you
start thinking it's cancer but it could be
benign and then you go for a test
and you find out it's not cancer how
do you feel complete relief feel massively relieved
just because the doctor told you that it's
okay or you don't have to go for
a test but they know that this usually
cannot be like there's one guy he had
a little lump somewhere and he consulted the
specialist in that without any test or anything
that cannot be cancer because you don't usually
get cancer there and the person just felt
relieved after two three weeks of feeling like
oh no you know so just the doctor
telling you that no this is this or
this is that or this is the prognosis
or this is what this entails there's no
uncertainty left same with spirituality the shaykh is
supposed to relieve the uncertainty and tell you
this is what it is this is what's
going to happen to you if you don't
do this or don't worry about this this
will go away or ignore this or whatever
the case is just like a medical doctor
that's exactly what it is this is a
brief exposition for understanding the need for a
shaykh is felt and understood once one commences
on the path and systematically informs the shaykh
of one's particular conditions and at the same
time follows his advice and instruction you can
have a shaykh but you don't tell him
anything and it's just barakah feel good factor
you're not going to get anything explaining like
you know the shaykh better get dreams about
me he better just be able to see
it he's not a prophet and even prophets
don't learn everything except what Allah wishes them
to learn so furthermore such total obedience is
possible only if one has full trust and
confidence in the shaykh fully resigning to him
and at that time one will actually feel
and realize that it is not possible to
attain the goal without a shaykh so it's
very very difficult to attain the goal without
a shaykh but yeah that is essentially what
it is and then after the next section
is actually talking about who is a qualified
shaykh because you might then want a shaykh
and then you don't find a qualified shaykh
and then you're just going down another hole
right Allah protect us from that may Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us good shuyukh
Ya Allah have mercy on us Ya Allah
have mercy on us Ya Allah we ask
you for your special grace we ask you
for your blessing we ask you for your
mercy we ask you for your generosity we
ask you for your special attention Ya Allah
we ask you for your love we ask
you for your forgiveness Ya Allah forgive us
all of our wrongdoing all of our delays
all of our excesses oh Allah all of
our distractions oh Allah all of our negligence
Ya Allah oh Allah oh Allah we spend
so much time doing so many other things
oh Allah we complain we have no time
but oh Allah we have so much time
that we waste oh Allah protect us from
all those things which distract us oh Allah
allow us to use all of these new
technologies in a responsible way oh Allah allow
us to harness their benefits and oh Allah
allow them to make our life easy and
for us to assist and help people oh
Allah but protect us from the evil of
them all oh Allah protect us from the
distraction of them all oh Allah oh Allah
oh Allah we ask that you do not
allow us to be consigned to our nafs
oh Allah that you allow us to fall
prey to our nafs oh Allah keep in
control of us Allahumma alhimna rushdana oh Allah
oh Allah inspire us with our guidance and
with the right course in this world oh
Allah we're constantly bewildered oh Allah we think
something is good but it turns out to
be bad oh Allah we make many mistakes
oh Allah our hearts are darkened our minds
are clouded oh Allah allow us to see
the truth as the truth and allow us
to follow it allow us to see the
wrong as the wrong and allow us to
abstain from it oh Allah make it easy
for us to abstain from whatever wrongs there
are and oh Allah allow us to do
just those actions which bring us close to
you which give us a greater chance to
be in the company of your messenger Muhammad
in the hereafter oh Allah allow us to
lead the life of a true Muhammad oh
Allah you have given us abundantly you have
provided us abundant resources more than so many
others in this world oh Allah we ask
that you allow us to be thankful a
thankful slave a thankful servant oh Allah a
worshipping servant a remembering servant a grateful servant
oh Allah do not allow what you have
given us to cause mischief oh Allah and
to disobey you ya Allah oh Allah we
ask you protection from your punishments oh Allah
we ask you protection from your displeasure oh
Allah allow us to be like the way
you would like us to be that you
want us to be and oh Allah allow
us to fulfil that role and oh Allah
allow us to leave a legacy and to
be productive oh Allah to be practical individuals
allow us to do that which is correct
for us and others oh Allah protect us
from selfishness allow us to assist others oh
Allah relieve our brothers and sisters wherever they
are suffering in the world whether that be
in Bangladesh or Sudan and especially Palestine and
Gaza oh Allah grant them their relief and
their dignity and their ascendancy and their independence
oh Allah oh Allah grant them their honour
grant them much much greater and much better
than what they are deprived of and what
they have lost oh Allah protect us and
our families oh Allah grant us our permissible
needs in this world those who are not
married oh Allah grant them good marriages those
who are married grant them blessed marriages grant
them pious and righteous progeny and offspring until
the day of judgement keep the kalima la
ilaha illallah in all of our descendants ya
Allah do not let us be ashamed and
embarrassed on the day of judgement oh Allah
allow us to be in the shade allow
us to be in your shade ya Allah
allow us to be with the righteous ones
and the shuhada and the salihin oh Allah
give us a good life of this world
and especially a life of the hereafter oh
Allah except from us and all of our
permissible projects our masajid projects and all other
projects allow us to complete them and remove
the obstacle from our path protect the haramain
ash-sharifain protect masjid al-aqsa oh Allah
oh Allah and grant us elevation subhana rabbika
rabbil-izzati amma yasifoon wa salaman al-mursaleena
walhamdulillahi rabbil-alameen wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh the
point of a lecture is to encourage people
to act to get further an inspiration an
encouragement persuasion the next step is to actually
start learning seriously to read books to take
on a subject of Islam and to understand
all the subjects of Islam at least at
their basic level so that we can become
more aware of what our deen wants from
us and that's why we started Rayyan courses
so that you can actually take organized lectures
on demand whenever you have free time especially
for example the Islamic Essentials course that we
have on there the Islamic Essentials Certificate which
you take 20 short modules and at the
end of that inshallah you will have gotten
the basics of most of the most important
topics in Islam and you will feel a
lot more confident you don't have to leave
lectures behind you can continue to listen to
lectures but you need to have this more
sustained study as well Jazakallah Khair Assalamualaikum wa
rahmatullahi wa barakatuh