The Difference Between People of the Deen and People of the Dunya

Once the baby of Hazratwala’s nephew came to the khanqah.  Hazratwala (DB) picked him up and the baby immediately began to cry and scream.  Hazratwala (DB) then said that Allah inspired my heart with an important thought.  Hazratwala (DB) said, “I wanted to pick the child up to kiss him out of love, but since the child is unaware of that, he began to scream and cry.  Similarly when the people of the dunya are called towards Allah and His Messenger (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) they become uncomfortable and uneasy because their souls have not yet matured.  If I were to give the child a chocolate candy he would become happy.  Likewise, the people of the dunya accept every invitation when they are invited towards the dunya.  This little child is exempt and excused, and Allah will not take him to task, however, if you do not accept the invitation of iman from Allah and His Messenger (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) then you will not be forgiven since you are sane and mature.  He [Allah] has nourished and raised you.  He has caused your body and mind to grow and mature.  Despite all of that, if you still have not recognized Allah, then He will not forgive you.”

- Khazaa’in-e-ma’rifat-o-Muhabbat pg. 72

 

The Difference Between Karam (munificience) and Sakhaawat (generosity)

Hazratwala Hazrat-e-Aqdas Mawlana Shah Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar Sahhib (DB) once mentioned,

“Today a scholar mentioned to me, “My students in class asked me to explain to them the difference between karam and sakhaawat.  I was unable to give an answer at that moment and I told them that I’ll think about it and get back to you.”  I replied, “If you ponder over the relationship between the two, the difference will automatically become apparent to you.”  It wasn’t immediately clear to him, so I answered, “Every type of sakhaawat is a type of karam, but not every type of karam is a type of sakhaawat.  Sakhaawat is specific to financial aid.  Karam is broader and is inclusive of financial aid and any other type of aid, such as physical assistance.  If a someone goes somewhere to put in a good word for you, this is a type of karam, not sakhaawat.”  He was very pleased with this explanation.”

- Khazaain-e-Shari’at-o-Tareeqat pg. 46

The Difference Between a Sinful Zakir and a Neglectful Zakir

Hazratwala Mawlana Shah Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar Sahib (DB) mentions that Hakeem-ul-Ummat Mujaddid-ul-Millat Hazrat Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (RA) has mentioned that the difference between a Sinful person that makes the zikr of Allah (a zakir) and the person that is negligent towards the zikr of Allah is that the neglectful sinner is not granted the tawfeeq to make tawbah, whereas when a sin is committed by the sinful zakir, because he previously had noor in his heart, and due to committing a sin, the noor vanishes, he becomes worried, just like when the electricity goes out and a person becomes uneasy.  He then calls the powerhouse and requests them to turn on the electricity in his house because he cannot stand the immense heat and the air conditioner and fans are not functioning, and also the contents of his refrigerator will get spoiled.   He pleads with the powerhouse to get the electricity back and says that he will be most grateful to them for turning the electricity back on.  Similarly, that person who has light in his heart, and the light extinguishes due to sin, his heart becomes dark, and he becomes restless, he will wirelessly contact Allah immediately.  He will cry and make tawbah and istighfar.  He will say, “O my Lord, please illuminate my heart again, your shameful servant is repenting, beseeching your forgiveness.  However, the person that does not remember Allah, upon sinning, is basically piling up darkness upon darkness.  His example is like a mechanic that works in a car garage.  If a stain were to be put on his clothes, it would not make a difference to him because his clothes are already so stained by grease and oil, or like hitting a cadaver a hundred times would not make a difference to the cadaver since it is already dead and can no longer feel any pain.  So the lack of remorse or regret over sin is not a good thing where the person says, “I do not become uncomfortable after sinning, rather I feel just fine.”  This is an indication that the heart has died a spiritual death.  Shaytan is smacking a person on the head and them not feeling anything is a sign that their heart is spiritually dead, which is a very dangerous condition to be in.

- Kaif-e-Ruhani Kaise Hasil Ho? Page 29-30

Requesting Duas for Hazratwala (DB)

Duas are requested for our Beloved Shaykh Arif Billah Hazrat Moulana Shah Hakeem Mohammed Akhtar Saheb (DB)

Tackle Problems With Patience

Once a person came to Hazrat Thanwi (RA) and said, “Hazrat, I have so many problems and difficulties that if suicide were permissible, I would have killed myself by now.”  Hazrat Thanwi (RA) replied, “If problems and difficulties were something bad then surely Allah would not have had His prophets (AS) go through them.  The thing to do undoubtedly is to ask Allah for ‘aafiyah, but if some difficulty arises, then be patient and pleased with the decree of Allah.  Always keep in mind that Allah is Hakam and Hakeem and be focused on Him.”  – Maktubaat-e-Ashrafiya

A Small In Quantity But Necessary Act Can Be Sufficient For Salvation

It is important to mention that a small action that we consider insignificant can be sufficient for our salvation.  At times our nafs does not feel like performing tremendous acts of devotion and as a result pushes us to leave out the small actions, and sometimes we do not even get to the point of beginning these small acts as well.  Consider the example of someone who out of fear performing seventeen rak’ats of ‘Isha does not even perform the four fardh rak’ats of ‘Isha.  They say, “Man, who has the time and energy to perfom seventeen rak’ats?”  However, this person has the time and energy to exert in sports without even looking at his watch to see how much time has gone by.  In prayer, time stands still but in other pursuits time flies.  They find immense enjoyment in their sports but prayer is extremely heavy upon them.  But in reality, prayer really is heavy as Allah states in Surah Al-Baqarah, “And indeed it is heavy except upon the completely devoted” (2:45).  By consistently doing the required essential act, Allah will grant us the tawfeeq to perform the optional acts in greater quantity and with higher quality.  There is no need to feel down for not being able to do the lengthy extra acts provided one is able to regularly perform the fardh, wajib, and sunnah mu’akkadah acts.

Despondency Is An Act of Kufr

Hazrat Hakeem-ul-Ummah (RA) has mentioned that a fistful of gunpowder can cause an entire mountain to crumble into little pieces.  So when a small amount of gun powder has the effect to blow up an entire mountain, so then the mercy of Allah also has the effect that when the focus of His mercy is directed towards us and allows us to repent for our sins the size of mountains, then weighty mountains of our sins would just blow up into thin air as if they never existed.  Is not the mercy of Allah greater than gunpowder?

Being despondent of the mercy of Allah is an act of kufr.  One should never lose hope in Allah.  Regardless of how great in quantity or quality our sins may be, at the end of the day they are limited.  However, our link is with that being whose mercy is unlimited and infinite.  Therefore, we should be grateful that Allah’s mercy is infinite and is able to encompass our finite sins and wipe them out.

So take out some time, offer two rak’ats of Salat-ut-Tawbah, and supplicate to Allah in the following way, “O Allah, ever since I became an adult (baligh) till now, whatever sins I have committed, please forgive all of them.”