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Shaykh Saleem Dhorat

Ramadān

A Golden Opportunity to Become a Muttaqī

By Hadrat Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullāh

Events and occasions give us an opportunity to track the passing of time; otherwise days, months and years would pass by without us realising. Whenever we look towards the future, it seems very distant; however, upon reflection over the past we realise how quickly time has elapsed. To understand the longevity of our future we have to evaluate it on our experience of the past.

As usual, the current Ramadān will also feel very long and the end will seem a long way away, but the reality of these days can be understood by the many Ramadāns we have experienced in the past; how short they were and how quickly they passed, and how after each Ramadān we felt that if only there were a few more days so that some beneficial action could be carried out. In order to save ourselves from such regret once again, it is of the utmost importance that we realise the great opportunity Ramadān is offering us and make the most of it.

The Objective of Ramadān

First and foremost we need to understand that Allāh ta‘ālā has granted us this great gift of Ramadān so that we may become muttaqīn – the people of taqwā.

Allāh ta‘ālā states:

O you who believe, the fasts have been enjoined upon you as they were enjoined upon those before you, so that you may become people of taqwā. [2:183] 

My late Shaykh, Hadrat Hājī Fārūq rahimahullāh taught me the following supplication:O Allāh! You have given us this month so that we become people of taqwā; so make us from the people of taqwā.

What is Taqwā?

Now, the question arises what is taqwā? Once ‘Umar radhiyallāhu ‘anhu asked Ka‘b Al-Ahbār radhiyallāhu ‘anhu the meaning of taqwā. In reply, Ka‘b radhiyallāhu ‘anhu, asked ‘Umar radhiyallāhu ‘anhu if he had ever walked on a thorny path and if yes how he had passed through it. ‘Umar radhiyallāhu ‘anhu explained that he gathered his clothes and ensured that his clothes didn’t get caught by the thorns. Ka‘b radhiyallāhu ‘anhu said, “That is taqwā.” The explanation of Ka‘b’s statement is that we too should pass through this world very carefully, ensuring we do not fall prey to nafs and Shaytān and commit a sin; be it minor or major.

Taqwā is a nūr (light) which enlightens and spiritually strengthens the heart to such an extent that the person finds a natural dislike for sinful activities. This becomes a barrier between him and the disobedience to Allāh ta‘ālā. This nūr of taqwā is acquired by forcing oneself to carry out the commands of Allāh ta‘ālā and stay away from His disobedience no matter what sacrifice one has to give. This sacrifice is called mujāhadah, and every time this is carried out a special nūr is created in the heart. The more the obedience the stronger the nūr, until eventually the heart is enlightened to such an extent that it will not tolerate the filth of any sin.

The similitude of this can be likened to a person who abhors dirt. If he needs to walk through a dirty path way, he will have a natural aversion for the dirt and will instinctively gather his clothes to ensure his clothes don’t get soiled. Similarly, once the heart has become filled with the nūr of taqwā, it will abhor sinful activities and places of evil and will develop an aversion to them, leading one to automatically safeguard himself.

On the other hand when a person disobeys Allāh ta‘ālā, the nūr of taqwā in the heart diminishes. The more sins a person commits, the more darkness engulfs the heart until a point comes when the heart becomes inclined towards disbelief. This very fact has been narrated in a hadīth of Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam.

Virtues of Taqwā

We can understand from the above that taqwā is one of the greatest favours Allāh ta‘ālā has granted us as it guarantees us success of both worlds. Allāh ta‘ālā states:

Whoever fears the disobedience to Allāh, Allāh will create for him a way out (from difficulties), and provide him (with whatever he needs) from where he does not even imagine. [65:3] 

And whoever fears the disobedience to Allāh, Allāh will bring about ease for him in his affair. [65:6] 

Race with one another towards Forgiveness from your Lord and towards a Paradise the width of which spans the heavens and the earth. It has been prepared for the Muttaqīn. [3:133]

Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam has stated:

Verily the closest to me from the people are the Muttaqīn; wherever they may be and whoever they may be. (Ahmad)

Allāh ta‘ālā through His mercy, love and kindness has granted us this month of Ramadān which is full of blessings making it easy for us to carry out the commands of Allāh plus other spiritual deeds.

Ramadān and Taqwā

From the ahādīth and verses of the Qur’ān we can list some of the special blessings and virtues of Ramadān.

1.  This is the month in which the Qur’ān was revealed.

2.  This is the month in which the doors of Jannah are opened and the doors of Jahannam are closed.

3.  The shayātīn are chained.

4.  There is a night in this month which is better than a thousand months.

5.  Allāh ta‘ālā calls out: ‘O desirer of good hasten forward and O the searcher of evil, stop.’

6.  Allāh emancipates people from Jahannam in thousands.

7.  The first ten days of this month are of mercy, the middle ten days are of forgiveness and the last ten days are for emancipating servants from Jahannam.

8.  Allāh ta‘ālā readily accepts du‘ā in this month.

Allāh through His kindness has granted us these great blessings which boosts our efforts towards the path of taqwā.  Let us therefore value this blessed month and resolve to carry out the following:

1.  Taqwā and tawbah: Carry out all the commands of Allāh and abstain from all disobedience. Sincerely repent and seek forgiveness for all past negligence with a firm resolution never to return to it again.

2.  Tilāwah: The month of Ramadān has a strong connection with the Qur’ān. Allāh ta‘ālā states:

The month of Ramadān is the one in which the Qur’ān was revealed as guidance for mankind, and as clear signs that show the right way and distinguish between right and wrong…[2:185]  

     Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam would revise the Qur’ān with Jibra’īl ‘alayhis salām during this month. The pious people gave much importance to reciting the Qur’ān in this month. The following few examples will suffice to make us realise how much effort we should exert.

•   Imām Abū Hanīfah rahimahullāh would recite one Qur’ān in the day and one Qur’ān in the night daily.

•   Imām Shāfi‘ī rahimahullāh would recite one Qur’ān in the day and one at night daily in salāh.

•   Imām Bukhārī rahimahullāh would recite forty one Qur’āns during the month of Ramadān.

•   Hadrat Shaykh, Mawlānā Muhammad Zakariyyā rahimahullāh would recite one Qur’ān daily.

3.  Abundance of Kalimah Tayyibah and Istighfār: In one hadith, Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam has directed us towards four things we should do in abundance during the blessed month: recitation of Kalimah Tayyibah, asking for forgiveness, asking for Jannah and seeking refuge from Jahannam. My late father taught me a du‘ā to be read in Ramadān when I was a child:

    

     Lā ilāha illallāh, astaghfirullāh, as’alukal jannah, wa a’ūdhubika minannār.

     There is no diety except Allāh, I seek forgiveness from Allāh, I ask from You (O Allāh) Jannah, and I seek Your refuge from the fire.

     It was only when I grew up and became a student of Dīn that I realised that this simple formula of du‘a was actually a way of practicing upon the instruction of Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam.

4.  Du‘ā: There is much significance of making du‘ā in the month of Ramadān. Allāh ta‘ālā has discussed du‘ā in between discussing the rulings related to fasting in the month of Ramadān.

When My servants ask you about Me, then (tell them that) I am near. I respond to the call of one when he prays to Me. [2:186]

     In the hadīth of Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam we find that du‘ā at the time of iftār is readily accepted. Similarly, at the time of suhūr du‘ās are readily accepted. We find in the hadith of Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam that Allāh ta‘ālā descends in the last portion of the night and calls out to His servants saying,

‘Is there anyone who will make du‘ā to Me so that I may accept it? Is there anyone who will ask of Me so that I may fulfil his request? Is there anyone who will ask My forgiveness so that I may forgive him. (Al-Bukhārī)

5.  Spending in the Path of Allāh ta‘ālā: The month of Ramadān is also a month of charity. It is narrated that the generosity of Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam would increase in this month. Spending in the path of Allāh ta‘ālā holds much virtue; just giving someone a sip of water or a mere date grants a person the reward of the fasting person. Therefore, one should make an effort to spend as much as possible. Zakāt is to be given on its appointed time whether in Ramadān or outside of Ramadān. The important matter is that one should try and endeavour to spend in charitable causes as much as possible. It should also be noted that when spending in the Path of Allāh ta‘ālā, a person should endeavour to find the most fruitful places for his Hereafter. A person should not give away his charity to the first person who knocks at his door; rather one should make an effort to spend in the most opportune of places. It should be remembered that spending is our need and not the need of the recipient; it is we who are in need of the reward of charity and therefore it should be our effort to find places to spend.

6.  I‘tikāf: A special significance is given to i‘tikāf in the month of Ramadān. The fuqahā have stipulated that i‘tikāf of the last ten days in the month of Ramadān is Sunnah muakkadah ‘alal-kifāyah. Hence, if the people of a locality leave this sunnah then the whole locality will be liable. Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam carried out i‘tikāf in the last ten days of Ramadān throughout his life to the extent that he performed i‘tikāf of twenty days in the Ramadān before his demise. This was to compensate the i‘tikāf missed the previous year due to a reason and also to increase his devotion before departing from this world. I‘tikāf will go a long way in establishing taqwā and connecting one to Allāh ta‘ālā.

7.  Remembering Allāh ta‘ālā and doing good: Spend time in doing good as much as possible. Whilst standing, sitting and lying down – in every circumstance, keep the tongue moist with the remembrance of Allāh ta‘ālā.  

My dear readers! Occupy yourself in doing good and value every moment of this blessed month. Life is very short and this golden opportunity of Ramadān will very quickly slip away. If we pay heed then Inshā’allāh this Ramadān will become a golden Ramadān for us in which we will become people of taqwā, thus acquiring success in both worlds. May Allāh ta‘ālā grant us the tawfīq. Āmīn.

© Riyādul Jannah

Categories
Shaykh Saleem Dhorat

Make Wudū an Important Part of Your Life

By Hadrat Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullāh

 Wudū is not only a means of external cleanliness, it is also a means of internal purification. As well as removing al-hadath al-asghar (the impurity that arises when wudū is broken) it also purifies the soul and the heart and assists the nafs through the lowly stage of ammāriyyah, through lawwāmiyyah, towards itmi’nān, the stage of perfection.

To fully appreciate how wudū contributes towards this internal cleansing we need to understand that our hearts are corrupted or rectified by our actions, and that our actions come into existence through the function of four parts of the body: the face, head (mind), hands and feet. There is a process by which an action normally comes into existence:

1. First, the inclination to do or not do a particular action is born. This happens by coming face to face with and seeing something, for that is how we understand something to be attractive or repulsive. It is possible for this inclination to arise straight away or at some future time after the encounter.

2. Next, the mind weighs up whether to undertake the action or leave it.

3. Thereafter the feet move one towards doing it or avoiding it, and the arms and hands reach out to accomplish it, or deflect it.

So, as a rule, a human uses these four parts of the body in order to acquire or avoid something.

If these four parts of the body are blessed, through the action of wudū, they will incline towards blessed things; if they are left unclean, they will incline towards filthy things. By washing the face, arms and feet and doing masah of the head in wudū we increase both their power of attraction towards goodness and their power to repel evil.

Therefore, we should do wudū as frequently as we can and try to remain in a state of wudū at all times. Wudū is one of the weapons Allāh ta‘ālā has given believers to ward off the insidious whispers of Shaytān. Washing the face frequently will mean that the eyes will be inclined towards goodness and disinclined to evil. Doing masah often will mean that if confronted with temptation, the mind will decide against it, and when encountering goodness it will decide to acquire it. As the hands and feet – the servants of the mind – are also washed frequently they will support and obey the mind. This is why it has always been the habit of the sulahā (pious predecessors) to remain in the state of wudū at all times. They not only do wudū for salāh or tilāwah, but renew it whenever it breaks.

A special effort should be made to also retire to sleep in the state of wudū. Ḥaḍdrat Shaykh Mawlānā Muhammad Zakariyyā rahimahullāh explains that doing wudū before sleeping wards off bad dreams and Shaytānī whispers during the night, and if combined with the recital of Āyat-ul-Kursī before sleeping, then all the better.

Tahiyyat-ul-Wudū

We should also make a habit of performing two raka‘āt of Tahiyyat-ul-Wudū after completing wudū, as long as it is not a makrūh time to offer salāh and there is enough time before the fard salāh. After Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam returned from mi‘rāj he asked Bilāl radhiyallāhu ‘anhu, “O Bilāl! Tell me in which of the actions you have done in Islām you have the most hope of reward, for truly, I heard the sound of your footsteps ahead of me in Jannah?”

Bilāl radhiyallāhu ‘anhu replied, “I have done no action that I have more hope in than that whenever I do wudū, any time in the day or night, I perform as much salāh with that wudū as Allāh ta‘ālā has ordained for me.” (Al-Bukhārī)

Attentiveness During Wudū

To derive the greatest benefit from wudū we must do it with understanding, concentration and attentiveness. When Imām Zayn-ul-‘Ābidīn rahimahullāh (the son ofHusayn ibn ‘Alī radhiyallāhu ‘anhu) used to sit down to do wudū, his demeanour would change and he would turn pale. Once, someone asked the cause of the change and he explained that when commencing wudū the realisation would dawn that it is time to stand in the court of the Almighty, and thus his heart would be weighed down by a sense of awe at the Greatness and Majesty of Allāh ta‘ālā.

Our pious predecessors would do wudū with the realisation that they were about to present themselves in the court of the Almighty. They would start preparing for salāh up to an hour beforehand, and utter beautiful supplications during the various stages of wudū, remaining mindful of Him from beginning to end. They would enter the masjid with that attentiveness, offer Tahiyyat-ul-Masjid and the sunnah salāh and then sit in anticipation of the fard salāh, neither looking this way nor that, completely engrossed in the remembrance of Allāh ta‘ālā.

Imagine the connection with the Almighty they would have established when they would finally stand for the fard salāh and say Allāhu Akbar! Shaykh Fadl-ur-Rahmān Ganjmurādābādī rahimahullāh used to say that when placing his forehead on the ground in sajdah, he would feel like never lifting it up again, and he would feel he had placed his head in the lap of Allāh ta‘ālā, and Allāh ta‘ālā was stroking his head with affection. That is why when our pious predecessors would finish salāh they would not feel like leaving the masjid.

It is sad to say that our condition is very different. When the time for salāh approaches we rush through wudū and rush to offer salāh, which we regard as a burdensome duty. Even while doing wudū, our minds are occupied with worldly matters, or we chat and laugh. And after salāh we rush out of the masjid.

May Allāh ta‘ālā instead grant us the ability to follow in the footsteps of our pious predecessors by giving wudū an important place in our lives, and doing it frequently and with attentiveness.

© Riyādul Jannah (Vol. 25 No. 4, Apr 2016)

Categories
Shaykh Saleem Dhorat

Importance of Small Deeds

By Hadrat Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullāh

The aim and objective of every believer is to acquire the Pleasure of Allāh ta‘ālā, and for that one has to carry out good deeds. These good deeds fall into two categories:fard(obligatory) and nafl (optional). Non-compliance with the obligatory deeds will leave a believer sinful; therefore, priority has to be given to the obligatory commands. But, together with this, an ardent effort needs to be made to perform as many optional deeds as possible.

The Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam says in a hadīth qudsīyy that Allāh ta‘ālā says:

“My servant does not get proximity to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made compulsory upon him. Thereafter, he continues to gain proximity to Me by performing optional deeds, until I love him.” (Al-Bukhārī)

From this hadīth we understand that in order to acquire maximum proximity to Allāhta‘ālā and become His beloved, together with carrying out the obligatory actions, we need to go beyond and perform the optional deeds; then only will we become the beloved of Allāh ta‘ālā. It is therefore of utmost importance that we take the whole package and, whilst carrying out the obligatory deeds, try our utmost to carry out as many optional deeds as possible.

One should, upon seeing his/her weakness in performing obligatory actions, never feel that there is no benefit in performing optional actions. This is an incorrect mindset, as deficiencies in, or lack of obligatory deeds on the Day of Qiyāmah can somewhat be made up through optional devotions. The Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam said:

“Indeed, the first action that will be judged by Allāh on the Day of Judgement shall be Salāh. Our Lord, the Great, the Mighty, despite knowing, will say to the angels, ‘Check my servant’s account (for his Salāh); did he complete it or leave it incomplete?’ If it is complete, then it will be written as such. And if it is found lacking, then Allāh will say, ‘Check if my servant has any optional Salāh in his account. If he has optional Salāh, then complete his obligatory Salāh with this and then reckon him on this deed.’” (Abū Dāwūd)

Similarly, another benefit of performing optional actions, whilst being weak in obligatory actions, is that the nūr (light) created in the heart by these actions will make the heart healthy making obligatory actions easy to perform. Therefore, any small action should not be undermined or underestimated, as one is not aware of the spiritual effect it will have on the heart.

Moreover, many times optional actions which seemed trivial at the time become the means of Allāh ta‘ālā’s forgiveness. We have the famous story of the transgressing woman who upon seeing a thirsty dog gave it water to drink. On account of this one deed Allāh ta‘ālā forgave her and entered her into Jannah. (Al-Bukhārī) Similar is the story of the man who cut a branch from a tree which was hindering people who used that path. The Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam mentioned that he had seen the man strolling in Jannah on account of this deed. (Muslim)

Another important point to keep in mind regarding this is that any action, big or small, should be carried out as soon as the thought of performing it comes to mind. These thoughts to do good are like noble guests. If they are not entertained, they will not return.

Finally, with regards to optional deeds, we see people going to two extremes. Firstly, we have those who when hearing of incidents such as those quoted above about the dog and the branch, become complacent. They think that they have done many such optional deeds and helped many people, so they will most definitely go to Jannah! This is definitely not the correct mindset. Rather, the correct way to look at such incidents is to think that the person in the incident was fortunate. Take the example of a person who escapes a fine from the police for doing something wrong, this does not mean that another should also do the same because he too will escape in the same way! We should therefore continue performing as many deeds as possible. The other extreme people go to is thinking that they are so stooped in sin that a small optional deed will do no good for them whatsoever. This is also incorrect, for no matter how sinful a person may be, every good deed, even if it is the mere saying of subhānallāhor alhamdulillāh, will definitely be beneficial in one way or another.

It is therefore important that we do the utmost to maximise our good deeds with the intention of seeking the attention of Allāh ta‘ālā. If we do, then, inshā’allāh, Allāhta‘ālā will grant barakah in our actions and we will soon find ourselves practicing the whole Dīn, performing both the obligatory and optional acts. May Allāh ta‘ālā grant us the tawfīq.

© At-Tazkiyah

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