Advices for the Seeker

And the servants of (Allah) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say,“Peace!” (Al-Furqan: 63)

A true believer does not wish for any position or lofty status of this world, because he trains his inner self to suppress the worldly wishes, longing for the prize he will receive as soon as he departs from this transitory abode. Shaykh Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi says, “Our purpose is not worldly pomp through the Islamic seminaries [madrassahs], but our sole aim is to please Allah.” Allah gives tremendous grace and respect to His friends in this world. The hearts of the true followers of the Messenger (Õáì Çááå ÚÇíå æÓÇáã) are full of gratitude to Allah for the countless bounties the Almighty provides showers upon them; however, they save themselves from boasting about these bounties and do not attribute these favors to their own selves. Instead, they attribute all precious offerings of this life to Allah. These luxuries and comforts, they are bounties of Allah, but their love does not take the truthful away from the love of their Lord, the Most Affectionate.

The glamour of the world fails to deceive those hearts which are attached with Allah. The love of this world does not find way into hearts that linger to meet their Supreme Deity. Appreciating pious men and virtuous saints, yes, but the heart of the recognizer [‘arif] holds no human dearer than the Holy Prophet (Õáì Çááå ÚÇíå æÓÇáã). Imbedded with high feelings of faith and love, the recognizer always negates his own self by declaring that “he is nothing.” While negating himself, he does not become proud of negating himself. This is the true seeker of Allah! Shaykh Gangohi used to say, “If a person admits that I have acquired nothing (in terms of excellent qualities) after long sacrifices and hardships (for the sake of gaining nearness to Allah), indeed he has acquired everything.”

One who is blessed with true yearning for the pleasure of Allah will want to please Allah through every way and means possible. For him, days have been created for fasting, nights for worship, tongues for the glorification of Allah, hands to be raised in front of Allah, times to invoke upon Allah, and places to display the power and mercy of Allah. The entire universe of the seeker orbits around accesses to the nearness of Allah. In the beginning, this seeker plans to exhaust his self in channels of piety, thus he becomes somewhat overconfident of himself. At crucial junctions like these in this path, the spiritual guide [shaykh] warns the newcomer, in the words of Shaykh Gangohi, “Do not take upon your self more hardships than what you can tolerate.” These golden words of the shaykh pave the path for the apprentice, giving him an appropriate pace to tread on this heavenly road leading to the pleasure and love of Allah.

The seeker of the Truth [al-Haq] is taught to solely rely upon Allah and not to gaze at the possessions of the creation. Shaykh Gangohi, the “Imam Abu Hanifa of our times” advises his fellow travelers, “Do not expect anything from anyone, including me, this is the secret to religion [deen] and the world [dunia].” The Qur’an mentions sole reliance upon Allah as a quality of every true believer:

(The true believers) put (all) their trust in their Lord.(Al-Anfaal: 2)

The genuine adherent of the Qur’an and Hadith follows also the scholars of Qur’an and Hadith [‘ulama]. The seeker of Allah has to approach people and remove this misunderstanding of the people that scholars take one away from the Qur’an and Hadith. The Qur’an commands the Muslims to consult and ask their religious matters from the ‘ulama:

If you know not, ask of those who possess knowledge.(An-Nahl: 43)

When one turns to the authentic sources of Islamic tradition, they will always point the seeker to the Qur’an and Hadith. The difference between an understanding without the company of the scholars and an understanding after their companionship is quite evident. The perception of religion after attending the discourses of pious men and theologians will no longer reflect the person’s own mending of Qur’an and Hadith, but, an unadulterated understanding will result. Therefore, the seeker respects and reveres the Islamic scholars and all his actions reflect the authentic prophetic methodology whose knowledge he acquired form these religious scholars. Criticizing and belittling the ‘ulama deprives the Muslims from all goodness and leads to a dreadful fate. Shaykh Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi says, “The people who disrespect the ‘ulama, their faces are turned away in the graves from the direction of the Ka’ba. Whoever wants (to see a proof) go and see it for yourself.”

The saalik cannot afford to waste any of his precious time, because he considers time a great bounty and a trust of Allah. The true seeker of Allah knows not to talk ill of others and his critical eyes are always looking towards his own shortcomings. In this respect, Shaykh Gangohi says, “The time one spends talking ill of others, if the same amount of time is spent remembering Allah, imagine the benefit one will reap.”

The traveler on this path is consistent and diligent. He realizes that consistency and perseverance [istiqama] is better than miracles [karamah]. Thus, ShaykhGangohi says, “Be consistent in whatever Allah gives you the ability to do and do not lose hope, even if your incantation does not penetrate the heart, the fact that your tongue is engaged in saying the name of Allah is a great benefit. When the tongue is saved from the Hellfire because of remembering Allah, then the heart will also be saved from it as well.”

Arrogance and false pride cannot exist in the heart of the recognizer [‘arif]. He knows that all greatness and power belongs to Allah alone and humans have no right of feeling great and boastful. Shaykh Gangohi says, “The one who has arrogance in his heart, even if he is considered pious and respected by people and displays miracles [karamaat and kashf], know that he has nothing.”

If a person wants to measure his nearness to Allah, he should apply the following formula given by Shaykh Gangohi:

“A person’s nearness to Allah is proportional to his distance from his own ego and self [nafs].”

The more a person goes away from his desires, the nearer he gets to Allah. Before his death, Shaykh Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi, gifted the Muslims with the following advices, which are called Kalimat-e-Was’ee-at [Words of Advice]:

*These advices are common; hence, one and all should read, practice and convey them to others.

*I strongly advise my children, wife and all my friends that they should act according to Sharia while knowing and realizing the importance of itiba-e- sunnat (following the Messenger [); and engagement in worldly customs, knowing their evils, is destruction.

*The lust of always eating well and wearing expensive clothes is extremely detrimental to both, religion [deen] and world [dunia]; hence, it should be strictly avoided.

*To labor more than what is expected from one makes one involuntarily disgraceful and its deprivation will have to be faced in religion [deen] and the world [dunia].

*Ill manners and ruthlessness causes great displeasure of Allah. The ill- mannered will be disgraced in the world and faces severe dishonor in the hereafter. To remain calm and soft with all is compulsory.

*Evil actions, even little, are evil. Obedience, even a trivial amount, is a great friend.

*All customs and rituals (against religion) should be avoided, because innovation [bid‘ah] has slithered into them.

*To engage in an anti-Islamic action, innovation, or labor more than your ability due to the pressuring and criticizing of family and friends is unintelligible. The outcome of such things spoils one’s religion [deen] and worldly life

*Islamic law [shariah] firmly opposes extravagance. The extravagant has been called the brother of the Devil [al-Shaytan].

*When I die, send reward to me (by doing good deeds and asking Allah to give Shaykh Rasheed Ahmad the reward) according to your ability. Do not do anything that is against your capacity or anything against the practice [sunnah] of the Holy Messenger (Õáì Çááå ÚÇíå æÓÇáã)

*All should live mutually amongst each other with unity.

May Allah grant us all the ability to please Him and follow the Messenger(Õáì Çááå ÚÇíå æÓÇáã). Ameen.

Advices for the Seeker From the Sayings of
Shaykh Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi (Allah’s Mercy upon him)
By Ali Altaf Mian

http://alashrafia.com