Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera – What is Sufism A Formal Explanation Part 4 Hindrances to the Spiritual Path
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Bismillah al Rahman al Rahim Al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen wa
Salatu was Salam ala say the most serene while he was Safi about a
cosa limiter, Sleeman, Kathira, en la Yomi, deen and modernity.
So the main point that he has made so far, is that we need to, in
order to get close to Allah subhanaw taala, the most effective
way is to do the vicar of la ilaha illa Allah.
But that just can't be just a normal repetition of it. It has to
be done with Adam. And we've been through the etiquettes they were
quite in detail and they're quite important. And then he says that
if you do manage to accomplish, and become regular, on repeating
the name of Allah, especially La Ilaha, Illa, Allah in that
formula,
then by if you are able to fulfill, if you're able to read it
with the etiquette, you will actually reach the highest of
levels, and the highest of levels that any human can attain.
Who is not a prophet. So the level that literally touches the level
of a prophet is called Siddiqui, or Wilaya, to cobra, or khalifa to
logMAR. So the highest level of Wilaya
you could get to that, but this quite a bit of work you have to do
to get that.
So that's where we were.
So now, he says that the way to attain that
is where you stop focusing on the world too much.
You live in the world you use it.
You earn a living if you have to
write unless you've got a good inheritance, for example, right?
So you work.
But none of it is is done purely for the sake of the love of the
world. So you have you have wealth, it's in your hands. You
use it, you give it to others. You eat with it, you clothe yourself
with it, you clothe others with it, you spend on your family, you
live by it, etc, etc, but it's not in your heart.
Then he says hasta la sera, Malta Phaeton Illa, che minha. So you're
not focused on it at all. It's not something that you
have this intense desire to keep attaining, you're quite satisfied.
belt has had her comma does have a trilogy, fatty methylene. In fact,
you.
You abandon it. And again, abandoned doesn't mean that you go
and sit in the cave. This is where a lot of people make the mistake
in understanding these things. In fact, the shaytaan causes Minh
understanding, and then you just don't want to listen to anything
more. It doesn't mean that you abandon it in a way that you don't
need it. And of course, you need it. Otherwise,
it's just that you abandon it from your heart. You may have it in
your hands, but you abandon from your heart,
such that
with your heart, you would dislike it just the way you dislike
carrying dead meat.
Was he fair to hurl mathema Now the way to purify the heart
is to remove all of the bad traits from the heart. So he says the bad
traits of the heart that have to be removed in order for a person
to be of splendid character. And to reach this high level, some of
these things is has to jealousy.
Envy of what somebody else has, the reason why that's so bad is
because on the one hand, it actually kills you first before it
kills anybody else. Margaret, the Allahu Anhu said that I've never
seen any virus which is more fair than envy. Because it attacks the
person who has envy first before he attacks the person he's envious
of. Because initially, when you envy some somebody, it's all going
to be in your heart, you're going to be burning, the other person
may not even know. Right?
They may not even know you've never maybe even met some of these
people.
So then, then, the biggest problem in that is that in substance, it's
actually complaining about Allah subhanaw taala. Why did he give
him or her and didn't give it to me? So you're complaining about
Allah subhanaw taala as distribution, that's why it is so
detrimental. Number two is Hector, which is hatred in the heart. Of
course, that could come from envy. So you start hating somebody could
come from arrogance, why you hate somebody. Some people just hate a
lot of people just under the smallest of issues flimsiest of
excuses, sometimes even even I've never even spoken to somebody but
they just don't like the way they look or something.
So let's start hating them
that's why Imam Shara and he actually discusses this and he
says that you need if you find yourself hating somebody then ask
why you hate them. Are you justified in hating them? If
you're not then you need to actually try to overcome that
the more a person hates people, the more a hater they will become.
Then it becomes a trait that grips the hearts and then they just hate
anything.
That's just the way things work right if things become easier. So
while posit while the more you do is do something it's supposed to
become easier, positively. Negative is the same kind of thing
and negative characteristics. Right, number three, he says his
humble jaw, which is the love of position and a love of love of
fame, love of fame. Actually, there's several words in Arabic
for this herbal Jah was seed Well, mommy Daria Sasha Howard's what
Shabbat is different. So Jah sweet mamita Reesa
very similar, but they got subtle differences. Jah is like a fame
seat.
Jah, he's more like positional fame seat is you want people to
think you're, you want to be well known among people.
We're dealing with a lot of this, in this time, because it's so much
easier to do it.
It's never been so easy to become famous or notorious the world over
as it has become in the last one years.
If you wanted to be famous, you'd have to spend a lot of money do a
lot of traveling,
and do a lot of hard work. If this was 50 years ago, you'd have to
travel around the world spend a lot of money. Now you can
literally
at the touch of a button
probably become viral.
In all the countries of the world.
It could be a very good thing. And it could of course be such a bad
thing.
mamita to be wanting to want to be praised a place of praise reaches
a leadership. You want to be influential, you want to be a
leader, but you've got no substance. So then the easiest way
to become a leader is to do bad things. Shows show people how to
do bad things. And then they'll start following you. That's much
easier to be honest.
And Shaohua to of course desires while Keeper which means
arrogance. Ria means ostentation.
Or a joke means narcissism and self conceit. What's the
difference between those narcissism is when you just think
yourself to be too, too good.
You don't necessarily tell anybody, just you go around, you
just think I'm better than everybody else. When I walk into a
room, I'm probably the most intellectual guy in there.
When I walk in somewhere, I'm probably the most handsome person,
and probably the most beautiful,
most beautiful and well made up. Right, you just think that
you may be you may not be, but you think that either way, it's a
problem.
If you then actually apply that to someone, then that becomes
arrogance. If it leads you to now belittle somebody else, and then
reject the truth because they're going to put you down, then that
becomes arrogance. And react means ostentation, where you want to be
known for that.
And then you've got NIFA, which is hypocrisy where the inside is
different to the outside.
World who road is when the person is deceived?
And what book do I have the mineral hulky the lady or the
insurer Ian to basically just hate somebody
to hate somebody for no religious reason
to just hold the harbor that kind of hatred for somebody for no
reason and the like. So these are all the attributes of the heart
which are which will stop a person from ascending
for either Zavaleta and who have a hill or Saville kabhi ha it does
have a be other daddy ha minasi fertile Hamid Hamidah. If these
very attributes can be removed and omitted, these blameworthy ones,
then a person can be characterized by the opposite, then they will
attain the opposite.
Which are the praiseworthy attributes. So if you take away
hatred, then hopefully you can start having compassion for people
and loving people because that hatred was What prevented you.
If we can take care of the narcissism. For example, there's
somebody that told me that they invited a particular scholar who
was well known around the world. And genuinely he's a good scholar.
He really knows. He's not just a popular speaker online. He's not
just an he's not just a celebrity, with a lot of fans. He actually is
He's got a number of books to his name. And you can tell that he
really knows his stuff. No doubt about it.
Like in depth. So he was invited by a group of people, some
scholars. So he's another scholar who went there and started
complaining to the host of this well known scholar that why did
you invite him for?
She says, Why is that he's a good scholar, he's got a lot to offer.
And a lot of people have benefited and so we wanted to bring him to
this country.
So
the button said, There's nothing great about him I, I can do
similar things to him.
That's what I would consider to be narcissism and arrogance. Now, if
you don't like that Scotland, you've got a valid reason to
object, then you wouldn't say it's because I can do the same thing.
That that's the last thing.
Then you tell them, Okay, the reason why you shouldn't be
invited in Scotland because he's got this deviancy or this problem,
and then you let them make the decision whether that's true or
not. But if I go there, and I say that, why'd you invite me? Why
don't you just invite me I'm local.
I know the same things that he does where he doesn't, but I mean,
he reckons he does. That I can give the same kind of
contribution. That's a bit sad, isn't it to say that
there's enough place in the world. There's enough fame to go around
if you want it. Let that scholar have his fame. God will give you
your fame if you really want it. He's promised in fact, the Prophet
sallallahu sallam said min Sama, Sama Allah Hubei whoever wants to
be heard Allah will cause you to be heard.
That that's the Hadith that keeps me in check. To be honest, it
really frightens me.
Because you meet somebody and say, Oh, I listened to your lecture. I
really enjoy your lecture Hamdulillah you know,
doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean that you accept it now
according to Allah.
Because the Hadith another Hadith says that Allah can actually
strengthen this Deen even with a transgressor he doesn't get
anything out of it, but people benefit.
So there's a guy with bad intentions. He builds a masjid
lots of people benefit from the masjid but he doesn't because his
intention is about. So he's a transgressor. So the fact that
you're benefiting somebody is no proof. It may be a sign, but it's
not a proof.
So, if you don't like somebody, don't say it's because I can do
the same thing. That's really sad.
And just remember, there's enough blame to go around if you want
fame, there's enough blame to go around.
If you really want it anyway.
Then he says, So, if a person is able to remove these blameworthy
attributes, characteristics, then he can be
he can be attributed with the opposite of them, which are the
praiseworthy traits like Chef aka compassion,
which is gentleness and kindness and mercy merciful nature towards
others.
Anil Hulk Hatta you hit by the lady Hema, you're humble enough,
say,
because this person has now realized that there's enough mercy
of Allah to go around.
So now he will love for his brother or sister what he loves
for himself.
He's really understood Allah.
Let me give you an example. There's some there's a he's an
adult now. But when he was a child, he said that when I was a
child, there came a time when something wrong happened in his
life. He didn't get something he wanted. So now with a biller, this
is what he said. He said, Oh, Allah, you are stupid.
Why? Because you didn't give me this. So that, right? That got me
thinking that, what exactly is he denying here? He's not denying
God, he believes in God. That's why he's complaining. So clearly,
he believes in the existence of God, he believes is there. That's
why he's caught. You know, that's why he's used that word. So what
it is, is that he's accepted that God exists in essence, but he is
ignorant of God's attributes. And the way he the way he works in
this world, that you don't get everything you want. Of course, he
doesn't do that anymore. He's, you know, he's quite sane now. But he
just remembers, he just recalls. So that just got me thinking that
from an aikido perspective, you believe in Allah, but you are
ignorant of his attributes. When you're ignorant of his attributes,
then you're gonna complain, you may not you may not deny Allah,
you're not an atheist. But you will deny
how he works in this world. So you will be saying like, why is he got
more than I have? Why did I Why does this happen to me?
So, when a person truly becomes connected to Allah and removes the
blameworthy traits, then they will begin to love for others what they
love for themselves. They will become selfless because they know
that what they can attain is coming from Allah. Allah can give
it to me, he can give it to you. He can give it to everybody and he
won't decrease anything.
There's enough room
There's enough room. There's enough places enough bandwidth
bandwidth.
So, number one,
this is a sign. Are you loving for others what you love for yourself?
Are you loving for others what you love for yourself? Well, if last
you were listening, hello, what happens sometimes is that you we
are forced into a position.
Right? We're forced into a position
of having a superior over us who we think are not who we think may
be incompetent.
But we don't have any wiggle room, we don't have any movement, we're
bound to that position, whether you're at work and your
supervisor, just, you know, you could do his job 10 times over.
But he's just been there longer, or he's very good with the, you
know, with with the, with the board, or whatever it is, what are
you going to do about,
you're gonna have to live to deal with it, you can go and complain
every single day. But understand Allah put you into that position,
you may have teachers that you don't rate.
Very likely, when I've dealt with that in a number of occasions.
They may be good at one thing, but they're not good at this thing.
And you just feel that
they're not good. Now, what you have to understand is that you
have to sift through a number of things. Number one, you are in a
position. That's your position right now.
And remember, when it comes to religious things, then Allah is
the real provider.
So while I may not, it's very difficult to do this, obviously,
if I if the teacher in between me and Allah, you know, my
connection, I'm in a position where I can't really move around,
that's where I am, then I must realize that
that's my challenge. Maybe I'm arrogant. Maybe I've got this
problem or that problem. And that's why maybe I need to calm
down. And I need to this is just Allah's way of doing things.
That he wants me to just be more humble.
Maybe that's the baraka that you will get, because nothing is quite
straightforward.
The Prophet sallallahu sallam said that,
it could be because of the weakest among you, that you are being
provided.
Because Allah sees them, and he wants to provide so he provides
everybody.
And you'd never give the weaker thought you think that they're a
waste to the community.
That they're redundant, they're useless. So we never know,
what's the benefit, and what's not the benefits.
We never know who's providing the benefit. Don't ever consider
anybody insignificant.
Deal with your situation, if you can, if it's an intolerable, then
find a better situation if you're unable to. And that's what it's
for you, then you have to make supper. You know, one of the
probably one of the most difficult things, one of the most difficult
things is if you have parents that you can't agree with,
and you have relatives that you can't agree with, you're stuck
with them, there's no way you can divorce them. You can divorce a
spouse, you can divorce a business partner, you can divorce a
neighbor, but you can't divorce your father or your mother, or
your brothers sisters or your cousins, you're going to have to
learn to manage,
you're going to have to learn to manage, you're going to have to do
a lot of dua, at the end of the day, Allah has put you into that
position because you didn't choose to be there. Nobody chose
your parents didn't know who was going to come.
But we were all put together.
So there's a reason for that.
So when you start looking, when you come out of the woods, and you
start looking at things in a more general perspective, you start
seeing the bigger picture and you feel you're more in control them
just gets easier to deal with doors are really powerful.
Because what doors will do that Oh Allah, so allow me to solve this
situation I will they either Allah will correct that situation for
you. Or he will make him more tolerant for you. That your whole
occupation will your your whole attention will be taken by
something else and this will become irrelevant to you. Or it
won't bother you as much before.
So never forget Allah in any situation. There's no point just
falling down and and becoming despondent because that doesn't
get you anywhere. That just puts you more into the hole
so then he says how are you hey buddy lady, my you humble enough
say well last and then you will develop sincerity. We're hosting
Hello, and good character, such as Sahar which is generosity instead
of miserliness. Mosca. Allah d'Italia Hanabusa. Laurie Salam
Mosca means
voluntary poverty
voluntary poverty
not the poverty where you in need of something which can which can
be of two types where you don't have a new need and you need and
you just feel bad you don't have the other one is when you have a
lot but you want more so you're still in need. They both forgive
because the literally the word faqeer in Arabic means the one in
need. If I'm in need to get more even though mashallah I've got
enough, then that means I'm still a kid I'm still in need. Whereas
the miskeen is different mascara the Bronx I'm asked for masculina
he said Allahumma Heaney, Myskina will omit the Myskina. Oh Allah
give me life as a Miskin and give me death as a miskeen
why shouldn't it be Zoomer? Attila Masaki.
And also give me gather me
on the day of judgment among the Misaki
What is this muscular? What how do we define this type of poverty?
It's who do enough Celia McCollum, who here will have told Jana
halal, Berea hatherleigh Yoshimasa Hebrew ha Olivia city Royalton, it
doesn't mean not having anything.
Because clearly the prophets Allah ism is not making dua for his
family not to have anything.
He means Oh Allah, give them sufficient to live by.
Now how much is sufficient to live by that depends on your culture,
and your way of life.
And how much you think is sufficient is for you to consider
what you have to be sufficient. Here he's described masculina. As
for the heart, to become reverent ly fearful,
or reverently, respectful, to the station of
godhood of the Divine, for you to start respecting the divine, to
understand who the Divine is. And then to lower your wings, which
basically means that don't put your shoulders up, right? Be
humble, lower your wings, it's an idiom, lower your wings for all of
creation.
So number one, respectful of God, and His divine status and us as as
servants, slaves, and it and in terms of the rest of people, we're
always humble with them.
Always humble with them.
Yeah, Allah, Allah make this easy for us. Until to such a level, you
have to do this until such a level that this person then doesn't even
smell doesn't even want to smell leadership.
If you're given leadership at Hamdulillah, that's fine. Be a
leader. But you're not actively looking for leadership.
Because the hadith is quite clear. If you're forced into a position
of leadership, you will be held by Allah divinely helps, because it
means that it's important and Allah wants you in that position.
But if you go around looking always for leadership, there are
exceptions to this obviously like use of Arisa he actually asked for
the issue because everybody else was just useless. Right? And he
knew that he did it. But then you'd have to have sincerity to
really go with that to justify them.
Well, Sahiba, who will Abdul how picky you Siddiq and the person
who eventually attains This is the real slave of Allah who is the
Siddiq
who is truly confirmed himself to Allah subhanaw taala
from Allah matassa lambda Hello, Neff. Soo Min Manasa Atul hotkey
to Allah Fie, aha CE O salafi. Do you know what the danger of not
being in this position is and still having the blameworthy
traits?
It is that this person whoever is not able to have this status, his
self will never be free from competing with Allah subhanaw
taala in the most specific of Allah's characteristics, means
anybody who's not
controlled the or subdued that their desire for fame and gain and
all the rest of it, then they will constantly be
in the state of competing with Allah in one of his very special
attributes. Do you know what that one is?
That's obviously Allah's might and greatness. You also want to be
mighty and great, whereas Allah is the only one who deserves it,
because he says Leanna Rhea SATA, Inomata. conifer immortal honey
yada, it lock, because true leadership is only for the one who
acts with his own volition and is totally independent, absolutely
from anybody else. And there's only one being like that, which is
Allah
So how can we want fame
when that's Allah's prerogative?
Well, he Allah to fight equally and son in law back then Russia
had the Mujahideen Cobra. The thing is that
is basically this is touching a raw nerve as they call it. Because
this particular aspect of the human being right is the thing
which you're going to have to work the hardest to eradicate. You may
eradicate a number of other blameworthy traits from the heart,
but the love to be to have a position, right? That is one of
the most difficult things to leave.
One of the most difficult things to leave for air Kohala and Katya
and
Ilam, and hasa, Hula, hula Raghu, diethyl MakerBot. That vein,
right? This this nerve, this vein, however you want to call it, this
vein is not
cut away from anybody or not removed from anybody except the
one whom Allah subhanaw taala specifically selects for his pure
servitude.
Like, I really want you to be my servant, because you're really
asking for it, then for that person, Allah will help him to do
that. That's why they say the hero Maya Phrygian will call the CDT in
a herbaria. So
the last thing that will come, the last thing that will be purified
from even the heart of the Siddiq, the one who reaches that high
level, the last thing that he will eventually have to lose, right,
which the last thing we will lose before he's able to get to that
station is going to be this love of fame.
And you know what is so complicated?
Let's just say that
you feel that it doesn't matter. Let everybody else also be good.
Let
others also have a share.
Are you saying that because now you've got your own share? So
that's why you're allowing others people to have a share? Or is it
more selfless than that? That it doesn't matter what I have I want
others to have, regardless of myself? Or do I only want other
stuff? If I have? Because I have then you can have? So now I'm
quite comfortable with that. But if I didn't have then I wouldn't
be comfortable with that.
is better than having acid where you don't want anybody to have
what you have any or what you don't have? Or what you do have it
doesn't matter is better than that. But Is that still true
sincerity?
So
Inshallah,
we will continue. That's why, you know, this hadith says that a
person can never become a true believer until they love for their
brothers, what they love for themselves, is a bit of a
paradoxical situation sometimes. Because what if you love for
yourself to be great in another's, then you would have to want others
to be greater than others. And if others are great, and others, and
you also want to be greater than others, and that's an
impossibility.
Right? That's a paradox. So what's it going to be?
That's why rather than make it a rational exercise,
keep doing the Dhikr of Allah and asking Allah subhanaw taala to
help. And if we ever see that we are manifesting some signs of
arrogance. Right, we may not do it all the time. But we may do it
sometimes.
Or narcissism or whatever we, we get the thought, then we work on
it.
But a lot of the time when it's so difficult, you actually have to
ask others to help you out. So you need some really good friends. Or
you need a good teacher or a shake or something. You have to have
somebody that tells you, you have nobody that tells you anything,
especially if you're already in a position and you got nobody to
tell you and you don't even bother listening to your criticism.
In fact, your close people don't even let criticism get to you.
They just bury it.
That would be the worst thing
that you don't even hear your critics at least listen to your
criticism. Mostly criticism is going to be an exaggeration. So
you can minus 60% of it but 40% is going to be right maybe 20% is
going to be right. Something has to be right.
Generally speaking,
so we ask Allah subhanaw taala for help and assistance, we ask Allah
for the McCollum Siddiqui inshallah will continue to study
this and will tell us Inshallah, how to get there. But this is as I
said, the true understanding of Islamic spirituality and Sufism
not anything else. This stuff is tough, saying no fame
all these people who claim to be big Sufis, which is more about
fame and fans and things like that, then that's completely
antithesis to what he's talking about, is supposed to be true,
true Sufism so now you can see where it's all going.
About the journey medical
alarm, I filled an hour
Um, now you know I have you know I was alone and you know I have you
know which I know that lonely Nana said who can afford if you have to
deal with dunya
Allahumma fildena or Hamner or if you know had been Allah homophily
mateesah You didn't know Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam a lot
of model visit now even if you're on what is called wanna cry I'm at
a motor club along with Shiva Amin colada, Allah who might Nana Oh
they'll be coming at midnight and
SHA one of Silla tissue at EY in in Latin America, Dora Illa used
to jab Allah. Allah we ask you for your mercy and your forgiveness of
Allah we ask you for your compassion, your attention, your
blessing of Allah do not deprive us of these things. Oh Allah we
have many sins to our name forgive us our sins. Forgive us our
wrongdoing so Allah purify our hearts. Oh Allah grant us the
higher McCombs Hassan and of CDT of Willa Oh ALLAH.
Allow us to be close to you. Oh Allah be close to us. Oh Allah
grant us your love and the love of those whose love benefits us in
your court of Allah removed from around us those who detract us
from you, of Allah bring around us those who are conducive to our
love for you. Oh Allah, we ask you to enhance our company. We have we
we ask that you enhance our surroundings, our household of
Allah, we ask that you even make
our work that we do, make it fully in halal. keep us away from the
Haram of Allah suffices with the halal away from the Haram in
everything that we do, whether that be our wealth, whether that
be our practice, whatever that may be of Allah, we asked you, to
grant us well being and to thank you for the well being that you
have granted us. Oh Allah the bounties that you have granted us.
They are abundant. Even if we started thanking you we could
never end Oh Allah we can never
give you thanks as much as this do to you. Oh Allah we have so much
more than so many other people in the world of Allah keep our gaze
on those who have less than us that we are thankful to you of
Allah do not think, do not make us think that we have nothing and do
not make us so attached to the world that we have it in our heart
all the time. Oh Allah, those of us who are sitting here those of
us who are listening or trying to listen, oh Allah bless all of us,
bless the entire Muslim world. Do not let any of us return from this
gathering without being forgiven. Without being made closer to you.
of Allah protect us in this life. Protect us in the next life grant
us genital fear dos grantors, genital, for those, those of us
who are going for hijo Allah make this journey, a blessed one, make
it an accepted one. Those of us who would not going but would love
to go Allah facilitate for them. Oh Allah facilitate, oh Allah
allow us to come over and over again to your household, oh Allah
protect us, our children, our progeny into the day of judgment
of Allah, whatever short amount of vicar that we have been able to do
whatever reading we've been able to do whatever we've sat and done
our likes, accept it from us and make it a source of blessing of
Allah those who facilitate this for us, bless them for it as well.
Oh Allah bless them for it. Oh Allah protect us from all the
harms and evils which are out there. of Allah grant us an
understanding of what our priorities should truly be for
this world in the next world. Do not make us forgetful of the next
world and distracted by this world of the next world of Allah grant
us Baraka in what you have already given us. And oh Allah don't make
it a test and trial for us. Oh Allah do not allow us to use in
Haram where you have blessed us with Allah allow it to be a true
blessing from you, and not a source of misery in the hereafter.
Our life except our doors are like except our doors Subhanallah big
Robin is that the IOC phone was salam ala moana serene hamdulillah