Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera – What is Sufism A Formal Explanation Part 21 13 Characteristics of Perfection
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smell learning or learning Rahim
and hungry learning of Benard Amin wa salatu salam Whina say you did
more saline or the or Safi or Baraka was seldom at the Sleeman
cathedral Ilario, Medina and my bad.
So in our last session, we were, the author had begun speaking
about
the, the way to attain perfection for those people who have reached
a high status. So he mentioned a number of things that they did,
which one of them was the always remaining pure, which is that
always to remain on will do, and even trying, even doing will do
before you go to sleep so that you sleep on purity. Because in Islam,
purity is half of faith. And staying in purity
means that that's a state that is a pure state, it's a state closer
to Allah because Allah is pure as well. Number two, was not
revealing one's private parts. Even when is it when one is alone
as far as possible?
Just out of shyness from ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada and the angels
number three was
reviewing one's elders,
respecting honoring one's elders, anybody who's older, in general,
and having mercy and compassion upon the young upon widows upon
upon the needy, and anybody else who who is vulnerable like that,
in fact, all creation He said, number four, he says a double Mara
Hilarion
who Susan huduma to Sharia law, Masha, Tariq fina humara fettled
Ambia we discuss this one as well, which is to have other with the
people of knowledge, especially those who are serving the deen and
the Sharia in some way. And the machinery of the todich Anybody
who is in a good way,
teaching people about Allah subhanaw taala about the shittier
about the deen than all of this needs to be respected for in the
home water that will Amir because they are the inheritors of the
prophets. Number five is Elia Zuora. I had a Minnesota Hinomaru
that Madame adapted turbidity cobbler.
This one is a bit more of a delicate one.
How Furman and Yara chromatin Oh, hello, can we had him let me era
who fish at he, they are a target fish at a noxa for your for a
mother who
what this is talking about is that not everybody's perfect. And if
you have a shake, and he can't be 100%, perfect, he's going to have
some weaknesses, he's going to have other strengths.
Everybody's different.
That's your shake, though. Now you another shake comes in town. So
you go and you sit there as well. So what you're going to notice is
that that shake may have some other strengths. So you will think
Oh, my shake, he's he's stronger than my shake in this particular
aspect. He's a better speaker, maybe
he looks more charismatic, he seems to do this better or that
better. So what that's going to do is that's going to create
deficiency in your mind about your own shape.
And the thing is that, when that happens you with a lot of people,
they they then hop between shapes, because eventually what's going to
happen is that there's going to be somebody else who's even better
than that one in some aspects.
Remember, everybody has good and bad, everybody has weaknesses.
Everybody has their strengths. So sometimes we may be in a certain
mood, and we may notice certain strength and things. There you go.
That's what I really need.
So generally what the other man says that as long as your shake is
a decent person
and you stick to him, Allah will give you the blessing of that. If
you're just going to look for somebody who's charismatic, or
somebody who seems to have a greater following. There could be
many reasons for a greater following greater following
doesn't mean acceptance in the sight of Allah always. In some
cases it does but not always. Because some people are just more
charismatic than others. They do things that attract people.
But there's no substance sometimes it is not as much substance.
So there could be many, many factors in the world.
That's why he says that in the beginning of your path to Allah
when you're trying your hardest to get somewhere, especially at the
beginning. He says he should not.
He should not visit any of the Saudi hen as long as he's still
under instruction of his own shake before he reaches accomplish.
Treatment out of fear that he may see some karama in this person, or
some other characteristic in any of them, which he does not see in
his own shake. And then he would think that he or she is deficient.
And thus he would then be deprived of being able to benefit from him.
That generally what they say is that this doesn't mean that you
avoid, I mean, there's some, some Sufi techniques are very, very
strict on this. And they don't, the the instruction in there is
that they should not go to anybody else. If it's a Sufi talk, he's
got anything to do with that. So then you don't, you don't go
there, you just stick with your shake. And others, they're not
that strict about it. But they will just reemphasize that you
don't get diluted and don't don't just start getting mesmerized by
every new thing that you see. Even if the person is a wonderful
person that doesn't make the difference, just that you've got
one, let's just say somebody visits from another country, a big
shake visits from another country, and you've got a local person
already. Now, the fact is that this big shake is internationally
known he may be so you become attached to them. And you think
he's bigger than my shakes I should become but then what's
going to be your access to this individual. Right, you're not
going to have access to this individual, he's an international
person, he's probably got so many different
moods and students. So for you to access that person is going to be
difficult, you won't be able to you know, you may want to see them
once in a while when you're traveling or they travel. So
they the main thing is that keep your focus on Allah subhanaw
taala.
And ask ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada for accomplishment, because it all
comes from Allah at the end of the day, and the Sheikh is just a
valuable means.
So
I mean, her next one, number six is warming has sort of been big
enough, so he will have snow who will be lady. This is probably the
antidote for so many problems in the world today, based on
arrogance and conceit and narcissism and things like that,
which is basically always to doubt yourself, to have a bad opinion
about yourself. Bad opinion means be suspicious of yourself in terms
of your intentions. Because it's only by really looking at things
with a critical eye that you can improve them in, you're obviously
going to be constructively critical about yourself not
negatively critical. If somebody is negatively critical about
themselves, then they're probably going to lead to despondency,
that's not a good thing. So be very critical of oneself, but in a
constructive way. And always have personally done with others always
have a good opinion about others.
A lot of people do the opposite. A lot of people do absolutely the
opposite. They can do no wrong themselves. But everybody else
they will find the smallest issue with them.
Especially when you travel, you will find those that do that more
than others. Not that we're trying to look for those kinds of people.
But that's where it comes about. Because especially when you're
traveling, there's going to be lots of
uncomfortable situations.
Because you're in new territory.
Everything doesn't always go to plan. And that's when a person's
character comes out. Are they going to be critical? Are they
going to just take it in their stride? Are they going to look at
things positively? Are they going to give people the benefit of the
doubt? That's very important.
It's really bad to be with somebody that keeps complaining.
Anyway, hatha yoga and Aquila had an accent, I mean, who Harlem?
Eventually, you should be that you just see everybody to be better
than you. Not even gullible since
you genuinely believe that people could be much better than you. You
see a person who's not as educated as you not doesn't know as much as
you. But he's praying in the first line in the masjid. And you're
praying in the third line?
Well, I would think that person is better than me, even though he
probably knows less than I do.
Because I don't have that Tofik that he does. So there's always
going to be something that you can find him somebody. Somebody may be
more generous than I am.
They could be so many different things.
The whole point is don't be gullible, but always look at the
positives.
And to be honest, some people think that when you do that, then
you're just setting yourself up to be deceived by somebody but we're
not saying to be gullible. We're just saying, to have a good life
and to not take tension on yourself.
Not to just get too preoccupied with others, because every
negativity is bad for you.
You know, even non Muslims will tell you that.
People who deal with therapy therapies and so on, they tell you
that the more negative you are, the worse you will be in terms of
Have your health, so it's not a good thing anyway.
Then he says number seven is an alliance Tassia, rollin FC Heafy
Amarin Don't be defensive. Don't always be different. Don't keep
defending yourself about everything.
Just let things go.
Number eight he says an era Eva Houda, Eman kadakkal. Hello,
Maria, you will have a Radhiya always be suspicious of your
worship
always scrutinize your worship always that some aspect or some
kind of weakness has crept into your into your worship. Your
devotion has been overcome by some kind of defect like ostentation.
You're doing it to show off, you're doing it to attract
attention. You're doing it so that you can let people know something
about you something positive about yourself. Or that when you're
doing your worship, there's going to be evil thoughts coming in your
mind. So always, that's the way to purify the worship. Because if
we're too tolerant of mistakes, or inconsistencies, for example,
if Samson were too tolerant of inconsistencies there would never
have been able to become such a proficient company in providing
mobile phones.
But because they can really be particular that no it needs to be
perfect in every sense. And they can be they can self scrutinize.
That's how you get better in everything. So we need to do that
for ourselves as well. Especially our worship. When we threw her out
yesterday quali hill a club. Lola Musa Maha to Allah He, that Allah
Allah Who for you're stuck for a minute, Eva T warming St. farI. So
when we're doing worship, we were going to feel like Alhamdulillah
Allah has given me Sophie to do this worship, I've accomplished
something, but is the worship up to scratch.
So that's why he's saying that if you do have if we do have some
weaknesses in our worship, the intention is not perfect, the
sincerity is not fully there. There's something else that is
causing
turning our attention and attracting our attention. Then
he's saying that to be honest, if Allah wants that could be in tight
that could be worthy of punishment if it wasn't for Allah's
pardoning.
Because when we present worship to Allah, it should be perfect.
Sometimes when you prepare when prepare a gift for somebody who is
very sensitive about, about these things, very
a lot of self dignity and so on self respect, and they don't like
that they're not they're gonna, they're not going to accept it,
they're not going to feel good about it. Allah subhanaw taala is
the most perfect being there is why should he accept an in
complete worship from us.
So we need to be thinking that I'm giving him something incomplete,
which I could be punished for, to be honest instead of Allah saying
thank you for the worship, I should be punished for it that
you're giving him something incomplete, the Lord of the Worlds
The Possessor of all perfection, we give him something imperfect.
That's why he says you should make a stick far for his worship that
oh Allah I seek your forgiveness for this type of worship. And then
he should make a stick far for his stick farther even my stick far is
incorrect because it's too far is also worship.
That Oh Allah I seek your forgiveness even from my estate
file that I'm not even sincere fully in my estate file.
These are not difficult things. They may sound difficult in
theory, but they become an attitude and it becomes easy.
Number nine, he says is then is Elia to Colombia. Colombia it fee
nominal for key Well, Jimmy will back off, you will find out Imam
Jaquan.
I guess this is not going to happen in sha Allah with us
because we don't really discuss those kinds of things. But
generally, when people get into some really heavy Sufi tariqas,
there's a lot of terminology that goes with that. Like for can Gemma
and Baca and Fana and so on. So, like with everything else, right,
you want to use the lingo you want to you want to fit in. So you
start using the terminology, just like with everything else, right?
If you get into academia, you're gonna have to start speaking and
writing like that. Right? You're gonna have to then treat the
subjects, then you would have read history at Oxford, as opposed to
have studied it.
They say he read philosophy at Oxford.
Sounds a bit weird for normal people, like what do you mean by
that? But that's the way to say it to make sure that you sound like
you're from the right. Anybody read history at Oxford?
So, you start feeling like he says, avoid that.
Until you're you get some
Until you're accomplished, then you'll be able to use those
terminologies properly. Otherwise, you're just going to use them to
show something it's going to lead to ostentation.
Hola. Hola. Lil Carmelita cathodic In fact, he says, even for the
accomplished individual, he shouldn't even use these terms in
law rehydrating Dr. V Halleck. Unless there's an absolute need
that demands that you use this term because there's no other term
to use.
He's got a very good point because it you know, when you start using
this terminology that nobody else understands, then basically, you
start feeling exclusive. Right? Everybody has terminology, there's
nothing wrong with terminology really. It really depends on why
you're doing it. Like if you get into web Jamar, then you're going
to use stuff in like, you know, let's get a while here. Right?
There's lots of words you know, I'm a Georgia and
gosh, then you know, there's there's words like that
there's nothing really wrong about that. But just saying be careful,
especially in the South because it's ostentation comes about
because of that.
Right number 10, he says is more hassle but to knifes.
Cons constant introspection of the self Hola, Marta Kabah to middle
Mohammed, while mcru Hurt awfully MOBA hurt.
So of course, anything that it has perpetrated than us as perpetrated
of the absolute unlawful matters or undesirable, reprehensible
matters, or just excessive permissible matters.
So not every permissible thing needs to be done.
So anything that's gone beyond what's actually useful, beneficial
and needed, even of
permissible matters, that should be avoided. What Allama Walker, if
enough see him in Hawaii, good enough Sarnia to shaytani, yet,
you will still farming her
also to introspect yourself about the various different
whisperings and notions and ideas, the shaytaan ear ideas that come
into the mind and then to seek forgiveness from that. So he said
essentially, we want to purify ourselves not just outwardly but
also inwardly in terms of our thoughts in everything just in
general not just with relates to related to our worship, as you
said earlier, about our interaction and thoughts about
others, but just generally I don't want bad thoughts to come into my
mind.
Just just in general, I want to be my mind to be a container of good
only good things pass through my mind.
The less less exposure we have to wrong things then that's that's
the way it's gonna happen. Shallow.
Shallow, right? What is the difference between his then now
explaining because he mentioned hearted enough Sonny was shaytani
a thought of the soul? Or a whispering of the soul are
whispering of the shaytaan what's the difference between a
whispering of the soul enough whisper or a shaytani whisper
what's the difference?
Well, clearly one is internal and one is external. But beyond that
how you tell the difference. He's saying the difference between
those two this is a very important clarification he makes especially
since we're coming into Ramadan
this this really relates to Ramadan as well.
And oh well the first one she is hearted enough Sunni the one from
the soul is you're gonna be ill ha him. I will not see it. The Orisha
Hua
if the whispering is from the soul, it's going to be very
persistent. Very, very persistent. To make us do a sin or fulfill a
desire.
It's very persistent. It's almost like pathetically persistent.
Got to fall in love the ULI who Allah on me he had that too. To
whom are you read? Just like a stubborn child that keeps crying,
wailing stubbornly persisting on its mother, until she gives him
and gives him what he wants. That kind of a child. That's what the
Nazis like. So if we feel like something is telling us to sin, or
do something wrong, fulfill an act of desire, and we just can't avoid
it. It's plaguing our mind. It's there in prayer, even when we're
in such that it's telling us it's reminding us of the of the
pleasures of these things, then that is most likely going to be
the knifes that's going to be a a whisper of the soul.
And that's more dangerous actually, for Ijebu. Come over and
Radek
it is wajib it's necessary to eradicate that how we will
assimilate vicar.
The way you do that is to just constantly do vicar what Bayani RP
but he had an AMA
And to have clarification by reading and listening about
the consequence of such a deed
what our job is to shake and to basically have a focus on your
shake
so that somebody can supervise.
Somebody can supervise in this regard. That's basically the NEF,
Sunni whisperer.
And to be honest, Ramadan is to help us deal with that one more
than the other one who shaytaan is locked up anyway. That's why in
Ramadan, generally, the sins that we continue to commit are those
that are from the soul that addictions, it's just like, think
about it like this.
Those who smoked the first time you smoke, why did you smoke? Most
likely because somebody encouraged you to do so. Right?
Most people have smoked first time around because somebody encouraged
them to do so a friend, some peers, don't be chicken, do it,
just have one and so on. But when you become habituated to it, do
you need anybody to encourage you? Or is it just enough that
encourages you consider that to be enough sone whisper
to continue smoking is enough Sani whisper and the first the first
few times that somebody told us smoke, that was a shaytani whisper
same thing like that. So likewise in Ramadan, you won't get any new
shaytani whispers because shaytan is out of the picture. In general,
you will just get enough sun is the addictions which will want to
kick in. But by the end of 30 days, the whole idea of the 30
days is is that that's detoxified that we remove the we remove that,
that knifes tiny whisper is also taking the concern so shaitan is
already bound up the knifes has to be trained with the in the absence
of shaitan. So now he moves on to the secretary says that the
shaytani whisperer yeah Konami lady il half the shaytani receber
will not be persistent.
It will be an idea.
Right? And if you try to dismiss it by our older Biller, or
Subhanallah, or vicar or remembrance, or solid that will go
it's quite easy. Genuinely a new idea as well. He won't be an
addiction because that addiction ideas already from the knifes
shaytan can also try to rekindle that as well. But yeah, more will
Mazziotti will use a you know Ha, what she was shaytani whispered
does is that it actually commands you to do an disobedience and
adorns it for you. Makes it look really beautiful and nice.
For in power who shall shucks
it if the person obeys the shaytaan and does that thing
they're gonna go out with your friends and they're gonna go to
such embrace go no, no, I can't go
no, I can't go that's very wrong. I'm not I'm gonna avoid it. I'm
not gonna go this time. I'm not gonna go. So
it if you don't listen if you if you've avoided it, it says in
Dakar Rally Aha, that will give you another idea.
It just wants to trap us somehow or the other. It just keeps on
giving us new ideas. Unless we continue vicar. That's why he's
saying the end Acosta who al haywire Allah, you heard that in
the goon. He just wants to mislead and cause deviance in whatever way
it is. He doesn't care what sin you do. If you can't make us do a
Hudson. A complicated sin, a severe sin is going to make us do
something lighter.
So if you can't make us go out, and we're going to pray instead
and he can't make us avoid it at cough, avoid going for Hajj. Then
he's going to say show off in your Attica
or do something else wrong in your Attica or in your head for that
matter.
So he's going to just try to get us in somewhere that is just there
to try to boil us over.
Well, la Marcion because SUSE doesn't care about any particular
sin.
The knifes is going to be like No, I want that sweet.
Well, I'm gonna fork vinyl Hardy Rob Bernie well hearted al Maliki.
So now also you we've got the shaytani whisperer, and then of
Sandy whisper, but you've also got the lordly Whisper of the lord of
Allah. And you've also got a whisper from the angel.
What is that to do? So that's a hot air or rob Bernie. And
wholehearted al Maliki that's the angelic whisper. So you're saying
Anil? Oh, well, the first one is Murphy, Heaton beehoon. Al
Heidemann. Lady has What are you we you add the Ilahi routine?
The one which is from Allah is going to be generally a notion an
idea and encouragement in general. No, it's going to be just the
notion of doing good without too much encouragement.
An idea
Since your mind, you know I should donate,
I should attend the measure this, I should go for Hajj, I should go
for Amara, I should do this extra this Ramadan. I want this Ramadan
to be better than the previous Ramadan. These are ideas but
there's not going to be a massive encouragement.
These are fleeting ideas that come to your mind.
Number two, the one from the angel is that the good angel of VC is
where there's encouragement towards something, when you feel a
very strong impetus to do something, something good.
You really feel like I want to do this now I should donate
I should go for Hajj this year, as long as the idea of going for Hajj
is not to show a feature, then that can be angelic.
Then he talks about number 11. He says medieval art that he praising
one's enemies.
Praising one's enemies.
That'll make you feel a bit less depressed.
If you think you have so many enemies, and you're scared of
them,
to praise your enemy, it doesn't that give you doesn't that empower
you?
Again, it doesn't mean you have to be gullible. It doesn't mean you
have to let them walk over you. But he's just saying that take the
bite out. Take the animosity out.
What are the most decadent means decree him? And don't feel
repulsed by mentioned when having to mention them.
Unless Unless there's a tarbiyah there unless you're doing it for a
particular reason is different? What do I Illa humblebrag ferati
We're Tofik
and making the offer them for their forgiveness. And for divine
enablement for them to do good and not be bad. That's better than
asking for destruction because you don't know when they're going to
be destroyed if they're going to be destroyed. But they're going to
bother you forever. They're going to bother you as long as they
last. But if we make the other day be rectified and reformed, then
that's wonderful. That's one extra great person in the world as one
evil gone.
It's just the way we think sometimes isn't it?
When we do our little sorting what meaning a cathodic and likewise,
the dua for all disobedient believers. Just in general because
the more obedient believers there are, the better it is for
everybody in the whole world. So we're doing a favor not just
ourselves but for everybody by making dua for disobedient people.
Rather than keep cursing them and talking bad about them.
So all attitudes, it's all about attitude. He's got one main point
left afterwards and then
he has the his final dewasa insha. Allah will do that the next time
and finish us off Allah. So we ask Allah for Tofik for this month of
Ramadan for the rest of our life as well. Ashley Medina and hamdu
Lillahi Rabbil Alameen