Ahmad Arshad – Discourse At Khanqah #05
AI: Summary ©
The speakers emphasize the importance of balancing one's thoughts with the actions and emotions of others. They stress the need to watch one's thoughts and use it to determine one's actions and emotions. The focus should be outside of the "by the light" and the effort should be put into the "by the light" and the focus should be put into the "by the light." They suggest adding a second of song to improve the focus and emphasize the importance of focusing on one's own values and not becoming a king in their own eyes.
AI: Summary ©
One of the
key aspects of our of
our inner self that Allah
has blessed us. And
that differentiates us from is
the thinking faculty
that has given us. This
the thought process that a person has.
If you look at it,
it is because of this that we are
able to make judgments. We're able to make
plans.
We're able to make decisions in our lives.
Now
like other faculties
and
that has given us, if this faculty is
also not kept into check,
then it goes into corruption like anything else.
Like our gaze, for example, like our tongue,
like our ears.
So similarly, if we do not keep our
thinking in check,
and there's a
connection between
the thought process and our emotions,
you know, our goal as well as our
desires.
But
keeping that aside, if you don't keep it
in check, then it becomes so corrupted that
eventually, it just becomes out of control.
And what then happens is that now
all sorts of sorts of
random frivolous vulgar thoughts, they just become that
person. There's you know, the person is so
overwhelmed by
these thoughts that
even if they want it, they're unable to
let go of them. They bother this person
when they are praying in their salah. Even
when they are in the masjid,
they can be
in front of the
Kaaba and still not being able to control
this faculty.
It really, you know, starts to define them.
And
that's not a good state to to be
in for sure,
because,
it has a a very big effect on
what kind of people we become because the
sort of thoughts that we have will usually,
end up being the sort of actions that
we take from our existence. You know, bad
thoughts will lead to bad actions.
Good thoughts will lead to good action.
So
one of the the things within the Ramadan,
and we are talking about
and is to
really make this effort,
to,
watch our thoughts.
And make this effort to cognizant, you know,
and be cognizant of of the thought process
that we have. You know, what sort of
thoughts are coming into my mind? Where are
they coming from?
Are they emerging
within my own soul, within my own naps,
meaning?
Are they coming from, you know, the Omani
source? Are they coming from shaitan?
You know? What what is the source of
it? Right?
And, you know, you usually people can tell,
you know, if it's very, like, heavy on
and
desires and yeah. Usually, it's coming from one's
own stuff.
If they are very
sort of thing, they are usually
from and so on and so forth.
If you're sitting and all of a sudden
you feel like I need to read Quran,
obviously, one can attribute to that to a
source.
So
keeping,
a vigilant eye on it rather than participating
in it all the time that, okay, this
thought is going to come now. I'm going
to make this a food for thought.
Keeping an eye on it, and if we
find ourselves too
indulgent in, you know, what the Cheviot considers
to be bad thought, you know, pushing it
aside, you know, making your
faculty busy in something else. Now
if you know those of you who are
serious about their saloon, who are putting some
effort in, you know that
usually the
initial that we the lessons that, in that
are
carried out in
and they they kind of focus on this
aspect of things
to really get rid of some of the
spiritual,
you know, bad states that a person might
have, diseases might have. So
the,
the thought process can eventually become cleaner.
And this continues till, as we know, till,
you know, at least, the 10th Sabbath, and
then
with the blessing of Allah
usually a sort of be a presence is
is given to Allah, you know, to a
person so much so that they're able to
control their thoughts for a long period of
time,
usually.
You know, we're talking 8 to 16 hours
a day,
easily. So, you know, that kind of control
Allah blesses a person. And so
the sort of struggle a person has with
their, you know,
with with thoughts, you know, usually it goes
away.
And this is why, as some of you
might know that,
you know, usually, we we do in this
in the beginning.
With the of this Hopefully, we are pushing
all the corruption and darkness away from our
inner soul.
And then we do the
which has a burning
effect. It really is a very warm and
hot kind of ticket. It has a burning
effect that it kinda burns away, like,
whatever is remaining inside in terms of and
the itself have thoughts in it.
And and then, you know, we go into
this this mode of what we call the
the or the the the was
a And then pretty much all of it
is fiqh.
And so so fiqh is really what I
wanted to kinda talk about today,
is that
we have to kind of put in the
efforts to be able to gain some sort
of
in our thoughts.
So we can eventually start to traverse the
what we call the because then you really
focus on
certain eyes of the Quran, certain
of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Things like that. You know, you start with
you know, that Allah is unique.
And, you know, all the and belong to
Allah
and his
from all sorts of
and
And, you know, he is the musama of
Allah. And so just, like, kind of focusing
on that,
then various
whether they're,
you whether
they're, whether
they're whether they're, whether they're,
whether they're, things like that. A person is
able to put in the tafakkur. They're, you
know, now they're using the mind for a
positive thing. They're using their
their the inner faculties in a positive way.
So Allah
blesses this person with with with those
with these as well. And then moving on,
you know, it's like, what is the
on,
you know, who am I? I come
I mean, I'm a is with you wherever
you are. You know, that kind
of You know? So your mind is there.
Your heart is there. So all of these
things start to kinda work together. You know,
what does it mean to have a with
Allah
Again, the mind is doing the and the
soul or your you know, the rest of
the faculties are are really, like, benefiting from
that.
And you have whom you have well, you
have that
Allah loves them and they love Allah what
is
it look like? So on and so forth.
Right? So after that, everything is fiqh.
But the point is, if you're unable to
control your fickered from the get go,
what do we expect is going to happen
later on? Right? Meaning, if the corruption is
still there, if the filter is still there,
if the darkness is still there, and we
have not put in the effort to get
rid of it,
You know, what the
are we talking about? Right? What, you know
so it it becomes
muddied
just like the rain comes
in a pure form, but, you know, if
there's mud there, when it passes through the
mud, you know, it becomes muddied as well.
So, you know, we have to kind of
think about that a little bit in this
Ramadan,
And we have to make sure that we
are putting in some effort
to,
and it's difficult to, you know, some will
write, you know, to be and,
you know, it's it's next to impossible in
in this information heavy aids to be like
that. But at least have some as well.
So so that you're able to kind of
push away the distraction somewhat. You're able to
focus
somewhat because it will help you in your
salah. It will help you in your, you
know, you know, in your quest for. It
will help you in other armah that you're
doing. Will help you in life in general
if you're able to do that. And if
you're not, then, you know, if this will
wander and it will be,
you know, just be, you know, like the
top.
It just goes round round round round round,
and you just
it's this thing and then this thing and
then this
thing and then this thing and then this
thing.
It will drive you crazy.
It's it's it's it's because you you just
can't help it.
And how does such a person expect that
this is how I am in daily life,
and then I'm going to say Allah open
all of a sudden is going to be
a for
me? It just it can't happen.
It is just not it's just impossible.
So, you know, you have to put in
the effort outside so you're able to kinda
gain
and have that kind of, you know,
within the,
within the heart.
Just as a side note, and I think
I mentioned in one of the other kind
of lectures as well that,
one of the things that people do kind
of ask about is, like, how do I
make my salah better and how can I
have focus in salah? So if a person,
let's say, is not spending a lot of
time in their and their,
one thing that we should really try this
Ramadan is that we should add
or little stops in in our salah. So
a,
try to read it so it becomes like
a whisper so you can hear yourself, you
know, a little bit. Right, rather than just
sometimes people will just, you know,
stand like that and their lips are closed
and they're just reading the salah in their
mind. But if the mind is
dirty to say or if the mind is
full of thoughts, I mean, what do you
think you and, you know, again, it's not,
Sharon, it's not right that you're doing that.
And so, you know, just kind of verbalize
it.
2nd is, you know, in between different aspects
of it, just put like a half a
second of song. So for example, when you
say
you don't necessarily have to jump and just
say, like, 10 times, like, real quickly. It's
one.
No. Just just put in so
And then, you know,
give it a second because, you know, the
hadith tell us that Allah
responds when you are
reciting this.
So if Allah is responding,
why aren't we listening?
Same thing when we go into the room,
when we stand up.
A couple of seconds of just
just adding that pause and
and recollecting our sense of presence in our
salah. Inshallah, this will this will really help
going into the and then, you know,
understanding and feeling that I am closest to
Allah
when I'm in the state of. So feeling
that and then, you know, saying
a
second. It might increase your salah maybe by
minute or 2, but it is definitely worth
it. And so people who complain, k, you
know, I cannot focus in salah.
Salah is you know, it's just like a
mechanical, or robotic kind of experience for me.
This certainly helps.
Okay. So try to add that And,
of course, people who are have any
Zog Shock of Arabic,
Inshallah, focusing a little bit on the,
the meanings of it as well.
You know, that also helps.
And
in general, just
putting some practice outside of salah to be
able to focus
on
Allah getting some sense
of in our life.
That helps as well. Okay?
So right, you know, what this or this
means. You know, it means obviously different things
to different people. You know, one could say
that one is doing in the, you know,
the of Allah
Obviously, we have been told not to do
the of Allah. There's nobody can you know,
it's
even
even, you know,
the mind cannot encompass it by truly appreciating
it. For example, you know,
you know, Allah, you're so
and so. Obviously, we cannot do of it,
but we can feel that. We can feel
that.
We can feel all of those things. Right?
And so just kind of do the on
that. Yeah. Look at this. You know, you
have given me so much.
Right? So
doing that a little bit, you know, it
will increase in your own gratitude.
It will increase in your, in your in
the awe of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. Like,
when I did the and everything around me,
like, you know,
and everything, you know, it's just it's a
jeeb. It's it's so
humongous. It's huge. It's so intricate. I mean,
the details and, you know, that increases your
your own marifa for Allah
as
well. So that's one thing we can certainly
do.
You know, Masha'i gave up. You know?
It was sort of like that, oh, Allah,
I have understood that
you're not being able to get your is
your.
Right? That, you know, you're
you're beyond
imagination,
beyond all of our, you know, striving and,
you know, and there's a that is. But
that's also the.
And, you know, another
aspect of things is, you know, our own
states that we can do in. You know?
So rather than every good thing that we
do and all of a sudden we you
know, that's your love's talking. Oh, Marsha, look
at me.
Look at what an amazing person I I
I am. I've been able to do this,
and I'll be able to do that. That's
your love's talking.
But really looking and may maybe focusing on,
you know, I I really should have been
like this, you know, like, this is what
my were like and, you know, all these
great, you know, even just if you take
the,
you know, the,
it's just amazing people.
And so
just kind of looking at that
and assessing our own kind
of shortcomings, you know, like, look at what
they did and look at what I am.
And so keeping an eye
and and ficker on one's own state of
being as well, that helps too. Just keeping
yourself in check. What they
say, right? It it helps you stay within
your path.
This is who I am. So, you know,
you don't become a king in your own
eyes. So that's also part of it. But
it should become
part and parcel of who we are.
And so in this Ramadan, inshaAllah, striving a
little bit to
pushing aside the bad thoughts, evil thoughts,
thoughts of thoughts of despair, hopelessness,
things like that. And
focusing
on the azmuth of Allah
his, you know, attributes, his beauty,
and and, you know, that he's with us,
things like that,
It will do wonders because this is a
time of wonder. So may Allah
make it easy for all of us. May
Allah
make us amongst going through our people of
positive.
May Allah accept us all.