Ahmad Arshad – Discourse At Khanqah #12
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the natural orientation of the nafs and the importance of showing concern and empathy for one's own feelings and behavior. They stress the importance of keeping an eye on one'snafs and bringing apologizing for mistakes to others. The speakers stress the need to be aware of one's own limitations and not rushing towards judgement. They also encourage listeners to be forgiven and bring their hearts to the light.
AI: Summary ©
Today, the with
Surah Yusuf.
And one of the in Surah Yusuf
is something that we should really reflect on
in which
Allah
That I do not seek to free myself
from blame, for indeed, the nafs
is ever inclined to evil.
But then we are told
except those shown mercy by
Allah.
Verily Allah
is most forgiving,
most merciful.
Now this indicates the natural state of our
nafs. Every person has nafs.
And this force of desires, this force
of wins, of wanting,
It's a it's a very powerful force,
so much so
that a lot of times, it drives
human passions and human instincts.
The things that we do in life, the
things that we want in life,
our days, our nights,
end up being determined
by
the orientation of our nafs. And Allah
is saying that
this natural orientation
is this inclination towards evil.
And what is the reason for that? Because
the loves wants pleasure,
and
it wants it regardless of if it's coming
from halal sources or haram sources. It doesn't
care.
It doesn't care. So because haram sources are
usually easy,
we find ourselves
obeying our own nafs, which is really the
greatest idol today is our own nafs.
You don't find
or za, manat,
and people worshiping them. You do find
every single person literally
worshiping their own desires and and their own
And this is the key thing here,
except those that Allah
shows mercy.
This is the great rahmat of Allah.
If we find in our hearts this incline
inclination towards.
This is the rahmat of Allah
that Allah
guides whoever he wants. It is the rahmat
from Allah
that he pulls and judge
to whomever he wants.
And so in the month of Ramadan, it
is especially
necessary that we show concern.
And what is the concern that we are
showing
for? It is a concern
for our own state of nuffs.
It is a concern of where we're headed,
of what our natural inclination is. And,
you know, especially
especially, you know, when we are, let's say,
engaging in some sort of Ibadah
or zikr,
keep an eye keeping an eye on the
on the state, because, I mean, sometimes you
feel
the love's coming up
and resisting.
You find your your your nafs resisting that
Ibadah. You find your nafs
resisting that act of remembrance.
And, you know, it will come with a
lot of
justifications
and rationality.
It will say, oh, you know what? You
have been reading Quran. You don't need to
do that anymore. Do something else.
Or you have been doing tikka. You don't
need to do this. Or you know, you're
already fasting.
You know, why not just go and rest
and so you will always find that these
whispers,
now
they have been chained.
So these are the whispers of
one's own nafs.
That is pulling it again and again and
again
to
pursue.
Towards evil, towards
pleasure, towards pleasure. Whatever the
whatever the way of that pleasure might be,
it still might it still pulls us.
And
so, this month of Ramadan, this month
of
of
the boot camp of
trying to achieve tazkiyah, it is very important
that we keep these
those instincts and passions that we find, you
know, just like waves in an ocean,
that we keep them in check.
At least be aware of them that this
is happening.
At least be aware
when that resistance comes in. You have to
see this,
and you have to advise this happening.
If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is my he
is my love.
He's my purpose.
Through Allah, I find meaning.
Through his,
I find,
you know, this
why is it why is it that, you
know, I am feeling this way inside?
We mentioned this at the beginning, karamadan, this,
sluggishness, kassel, susti,
all of those things.
So very important to keep an eye on
that.
And so one of the kafiyat that Mushayef
talked about is
this kefiyat of being mushfaq. You know, it
is what they call sympathetic or empathy, you
know, this word empathy is thrown around a
lot.
So it is sympathetic
kind of concern.
Being a.
Right? And so when we talk about concern,
it is really
a little bit of
sympathy and empathy for one's own nafs too,
because nafs is the one that is transgressing.
Right?
It is it is understanding, it is bringing
this understanding. And so when we say being
mushfir, it is bringing that understanding that this
is what is happening to nafs. This is
the states
the changing of states of aqwal that is
happening within myself.
And
also,
a little bit of empathy and sympathy of
our old Ahmad that we do
in the sense that we don't know if
they're accepted.
We don't know if they're wasted. We don't
know.
We don't know if there was a riya
in it. We don't know if the
niyat wasn't proper. We just don't know. I
we know we did it.
We know we just paid.
So there is that
concern.
There is that sympathetic concern about I have
no idea
if my amal are going to be accepted
as well. So this is something that is
a that
comes
on
a or
a,
somebody who is traveling the path that they
have this kind of concern for themselves.
And this also leads them to, you know,
concern for others too. This is what we
will give excuses for others. For example, we
find people
indulge indulged in sins and and whatnot.
But rather than rushing towards judgement,
if a person
has this hall of
empathy,
right, of of being a,
then they will bring this, you know, not
that they will be freed from the consequences.
Right? But I mean, they will bring that,
you know, this is again, just like my
nafs is
is biting me every single day. Their nafs
is biting them.
They don't feel, for example, if somebody suffered
with cancer, Do you feel angry with them?
For being sick?
Or this natural
or empathy comes in, or concern comes in,
you know, which are
suffering from cancer. So
when we find people
stuck in their
and desires,
we should be the ones bringing
that kind of concern as well. You know,
you find this
very ghad
amongst the holy of Allah
They're never happy with their own amal because
they don't know if they're accepted.
And they always give concern.
For example,
somebody came to him or is it
somebody came to him and, you know, they
said that, you know, of yours, you know,
he is committing
So rather than saying, oh,
how bad? How you know, he said,
maybe Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the jelly
of on
this person.
And this person did this.
So it was like giving
giving a little bit of room to the
other. This comes from that concern con
consideration for being bush fit towards other people.
And
for others,
it is
also the concern of the time that we
have wasted, and we have spoken a little
bit about this before.
That,
you know,
unless or until we realize
that this time is a commodity that is
ticking away,
and we are rushing towards our own demise
very quickly,
that without that concern,
change doesn't happen.
Because if every second is every second, it's
and we are not aware of it, and
we're not making it lengthy and valuable, then
we will waste it away.
Frivolous
lahuwalaab
in things that again, like, that the nafs
finds enjoying.
And also,
a level of of being a is that,
you know,
we look at our heart,
and we
look at
what is it that is causing this heart
to be distance from Allah What are the
impediments?
What are the walls that are erected? Why
is it that I have not been able
to receive Wasal? So that requires
a bit of
big bit of,
Ishfaq or, or or this kind of concern
with empathy and safety as well.
So these are things that we have to
be
we have to be worried about in our
lives.
It's not that, you know, it is just
happening.
If time is being wasted, we have to
worry about it.
If our heart is not
feeling that pull towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
we should feel
this concern, this sympathetic concern for it.
And one is that
concern about
developing
sort of
and
in ourselves as well. That is something we
also have to keep an eye on.
A lot of times what happens is
when a person does
strives to get ill, you
know, becomes a Sufi,
goes out in Dawood, does does things.
You know, does good things
because their own
involvement is in it. Meaning, the is still
in front of their eyes.
Some of that is used to develop the
self image of righteousness.
So a person becomes conceited. This vanity develops
as well.
And we start to identify ourselves with that.
I am this.
I am I am rather than
really identifying us as like complete of Allah.
Allah So here the concern
with sympathy comes in
where we check and keep ourselves in check
about
this level of, you know, whether over time
are we developing this
or this
of
or in things that we are doing.
And now
those people who have this empathy,
not the
empathy used in in, you
know,
in
contemporary times, but empathy from the perspective of
Sharia.
You know, these people, they don't create conflict
with others. They don't want any conflict with
others.
They they see that Allah
is finally haqqiki.
And I've seen this, I've seen like a
lot of
for example, if people want to create conflict,
they'll just stand back. It's like, Allah pechor.
Allah pechor.
Rather than,
why did this person do this? Why did
this person do that?
He threw a stone, I'm going to throw
a brick. They'll just, they'll like, Allah
wants to take work from us in other
ways, and?
So what they will do is, that they
will,
you know, they will they will avoid conflict.
And this is something that
this kind of concern
always helps them with their own iman, but
also helps them with their own istahamat as
well. Because unless the concern is there,
again,
we will waver,
we will fall back,
and, you know, we'll normalize that.
What is the dua that we make that
Allah sends this
of being
a whether it is towards others, whether it's
towards ourselves, this
sympathetic concern
should come
over our time, over our Ahmad, over our
inner state, and all of that. And what
better time to ask for it? Than this
time for Ramadan. So we ask
Allah sends
it down and Allah
helps us
and shows us the mercy to
get rid of the of our own nafs,
becomes
pleasing in the eyes of
Arab.
For a few minutes, just close your eyes
and bow your heads in complete humility and
humbleness.
Step back from all of your thoughts
of this and everyone in
this. Negate everything.
These are all temporary beings. This world is
temporary. Only
Allah is permanent.
And make me and Allah
descending upon me.
You're entering my call of my heart, my
spiritual heart, 2 fingers below my left chest.
It is cleansing it of all the filth
and darkness, bad thoughts, negative thoughts,
bad attachments, and my colleague is calling out
to him. My colleague is saying,
Allah, Allah, Allah,
and then I'm listening to it.
Our kind and merciful lord,
we are your disobedient servant sitting in front
of you.
You Allah, with open hands.
Denoting Allah how empty we are. We have
nothing to present in front of you
except perhaps
mountains of sins that we have committed in
our lives
Oh, lord. We come to you. We beseech
you. Lighten our our
burden.
Oh, lord. Please forgive all of our our
sins outward and inwards, big or small.
These sins and the the the burden of
the sins on our shoulders, Allah. Please take
them away.
Oh, that you are most forgiving. You love
to forgive
Allah. Forgive us, Allah.
Allah, show us mercy
Allah, just like we have been asked to
show mercy to others,
to be mushfaq towards other
Please show us mercy Allah.
We are people who admit to our faults,
our shortcomings, our sins,
We do not present any justification
of any source like.
Allah, we have transgressed against our own souls
day in and day out.
Allah, has there been any day in our
life when we have never sinned, You Allah.
Any day in our life when we did
not commit crimes against, You Allah. Kareem. Surely
not, You Allah kareem.
Yet, You Allah, the earth did not open
up and did not swallow us. This is
your rahma, You Allah kareem. Rahma, You Allah,
lightning did not come and burn us, You
Allah. This is your rahma'allah.
Allah, still you gave us Ramadan to ask
for forgiveness. This is
rahmah al akareem.
You Allah, the fact that You have allowed
us to fast, You Allah.
The fact that You have allowed us to
experience Ramadan, it means, you Allah, you want
to do raham to us, you Allah.
Please, Allah, please forgive us, Allah. Allah, give
us sistaqamat and Surat al Mustaqeem.
Allah, please
control help us control this nafs, you Allah.
This
make this
that
is content with you
and Oh Allah,
take away all the bad desires and whims
of the heart.
Oh, Allah, make our heart beat with your.
Allah, make our heart be filled with your
love
again.
Allah, help us be intoxicated
with your love again.
Help us feel the halal of the sweetness
of iman, you Allah.
Only you can give. Allah, you love to
give and we are fakir who love
to beg and who love to take everything
from you, you Allah.
Oh Allah, bless us. In this
Oh,
Allah. Allah, give us knowledge and give us
the understanding
of
this. Give us knowledge that benefits us, you
Allah.
Allah, allow us to act upon that knowledge,
You Allah, completely.
And Allah, please bring sincerity, not amaal.
Allow us to empty our hearts with everything
but you, you Allah. And then do our.
Allah bring
in our life. Bring taqwa in our life.
Allah bring in our lives.
Allah, Allah.
Just like you have allowed us to stay
away from eating and drinking throughout the day
wanting it. Allah, allow us to stay away
from sins, from bad gazes,
you Allah, from controlling our our tongues, you
Allah, from from listening to anything bad, you
Allah. Allow us to control all of our
faculties, you Allah.
Oh, Allah. Please accept our duas with the.
Allah, please
send your help to the.
You see
what of this of this world, Allah, they're
inviting each other,
Allah.
They're inviting each other like Nabi says, have
said they would, you Allah, in destroying the
Ummah, you Allah. Oh, Allah, please Allah.
Please, Allah, we know our iman is not
of that standard, Allah, but we are giving
you
of
the the tears of Rasoolullah
Allah surely one of his tears,
his blessed tears
To Allah
fix the heart of the of the Ummah,
You Allah.
Help our brothers and sisters wherever they are.
Help the brothers and sisters in Gaza, You
Allah.
Allah, protect their lives, protect their protect their
homes, You Allah. Protect their belongings, You Allah
kareem. Protect their wealth, protect their iman, You
Allah kareem.
Our our sisters, our daughters,
our mothers are there,
in such a state, oh Allah.
Oh Allah, please help them, You Allah Kareem.
Please help the
Oh Allah, show mercy, show compassion.