Discourses of Hazrat Shahidullah Faridi- The Purpose of Sufism

From the Discourses of Hazrat Shahidullah Faridi, may God sanctify his secret.
The Purpose of Sufism.



Every individual can reach the stage where he can converse, hold a dialogue with Allah. Initially it lasts a short time but as you keep up the practice gradually it may become perpetual, continual.

In the Qur'an, Allah has said that there are people who have effulgence. A light, this is bestowed as guidance from Allah. These effulgent persons move amongst people and they have achieved such Noor [light] on account of their rapport with Allah. Their hearts are enlightened on account of their spiritual rapport with Allah. It is as if they are continually being guided by Allah.

Achieving this is the purpose of Taswwaf and Islam. The practices of Islam, all issue from this foundation and are the reason for its success. People do not realize that this world is different from the world of the hereafter.

One can see in the life, conduct and teachings of the Messenger of God, his persona was reflected in the personality of his companions and people close to him. Our way too is based on Remembrance of God, contemplation and keeping company with the spiritual Master.

The Zikr [Remembrance of God] that's been prescribed is the 12 tasbih [one hundred bead rosary] in which there is first La ilaha illalah, where you strike your heart with the word Allah. Then illallah and finally Allaho Allah. If one does not find that possible to do then 500 times repeating Allah, or a third: saying Allaho while breathing in and Allah! breathing out completes this Zikr. This is done silently, in the heart [Zikr e Qalbi] no word is articulated.


All these Zikr have been there since the time of the Prophet. peace be upon him. Some modes of practice may have been altered but these alterations are not by persons of common intellect, but by persons who are ever tuned towards the Prophet Muhammad’s heart, and are given guidance when an alteration is required.

There are shorter Zikr too, saying SubhanAllah, Alhamdolillah, Allah o Akbar, La ilaha iLLallah may also be said 10 times each. If you do 100 times it is very good.


Zikr must be done in complete absorption in Allah, you must be unaware of your body, of your surroundings of anything else around you. This is best practiced in solitude, in darkness and silence. Those who can do so are rewarded with a gift from Allah: the gift of a Light of guidance and success whatever they do they will be successful and if the success is not evident they will definitely have inner success. If you are not rewarded in this world, you will surely receive it in the Hereafter.


... I mentioned the last time that it is obvious that Sufism expects action: performance & practice. It is not theoretical. The initial requirement that comes before us is Namaz [ritual prayer see sidebar]. Tariqat and Shariat are same: Tariqat is the essence of Shariat. It is the performance of worship with spiritual and sincere devotion.

The first command that comes before us is Namaz. Reflect on the fact that Allah has asked us to perform prayer repeatedly through the day and night. No other form of worship has this frequent and regular observance daily. The Namaz/Prayer is a collective practice of reciting Allah’s revelation, of bowing to Him seeing yourself in utter humility, going into prostration: all with absolute absorption in Him, and feeling the sentiment of awe and His greatness from the depths of your heart.

It is the remembrance and understanding. Understanding the wisdom - the discernment of a performance is essential. In the Qur'an Allah has explained the reason behind his directives too. If we can comprehend the wisdom of actions one can feel and pray Namaz sincerely and with feeling.


Man has been bestowed two powers a lower and a higher [sifli & ulvi] one displays your conduct with others and one your conduct with God. The powers that are lower and self-oriented are also essential and used in balance and correctly are necessary to our lives. Allah has bestowed us with it so we may perform our worldly chores and fulfill worldly requirements. Allah has invested this force with attraction and necessity so we can adequately live our lives while in this world. Man wishes to live a good life, protect his family, fulfill his physical needs and requirements... so for this success the Sifli power is required too... which Allah has provided human beings with.

There are some people who get ensnared and spend their lives indulging and absorbed only in this aspect. Such people believe their achievements are self-acquired... but there is the Higher, Ulvi force which is spiritual, ethical and moral... which has great strength and it can over-power the inferior one.

As much as the inferior power in charge of self preservation and selfish desires is essential so he may be able to live his physical life... man should move his attraction from the worldly and remember his Creator but we need to be reminded constantly, therefore the regular repeated prayers [namaz] in the day. To remind us of Allah and of the existence of another life, the one towards which we must work.

The details of the Namaz is not given in the Qur'an though: but to pronounce ‘God is Great’...to bow & prostrate before Him, to Remember Him are all mentioned in the Qur'an. It's God's blessing that the manner of Prayer has been displayed to us by the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him.

The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, is our link, our rapport to Allah. He is the Mediate that allows us to form a relationship with God.

***********************

Sufis feeding the poor

Hazrat Babajan Ubaidullah Durrani[may God sanctify his secret]'s followers have taken it upon themselves to feed the needy in different parts of Karachi once a month. [Details in video]

They're doing so in the Blessed name of the Holy Prophet [upon whom be peace] for the sake of our countries future.

Those interested in contributing to this noble cause may contact the Durrani Shifakhana [free clinic] at Shah Faisal no. 3, on Sundays.

American right-wingers on Haiti

You can be spied upon thru your cellphone even when it's off!

Most reliable hadith collection

Here is a link to the Muwatta of Imam Malik, [b. 93 AH] possibly the earliest and argubly the most reliable collection of Traditions attributed to the Messenger of God, upon whom be peace!

Bear in mind though that Hadith were not normally written down in the time of the Prophet peace be upon him or the 4 Caliphs, and are preserved henceforth through human effort, which retains the possibility of error.

The translation is from sister Aisha Bewley.


Here's an excerpt:-

50.4 Seeking Refuge and Using Talismans in Illness

9 Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Khusayfa that 'Amr ibn 'Abdullah ibn Ka'b as-Salami told him that Nafi' ibn Jubayr came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. 'Uthman ibn Abi al-'As also came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. 'Uthman said that he had a pain which was enough to kill him. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Rub it with your right hand seven times and say, 'I take refuge with the might of Allah and His power from the evil of what I feel.' "

'Uthman added, "I said that and Allah removed what I had. I still command my family and others to say it."

[also in Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]

10 Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from 'Urwa ibn az-Zubayr from 'A'isha that when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had a complaint, he would recite the last three suras of the Qur'an over himself and blow. She said, "When his pain was great, I would recite it over him and wipe him with his right hand hoping for its blessing."

[also Bukhari and Muslim]

11 Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Sa'id from 'Amra bint 'Abd ar-Rahman that Abu Bakr as-Siddiq visited 'A'isha at a time when she had a complaint and a Jewish woman was writing a talisman for her. Abu Bakr said, "Write it for her from the Book of Allah."

The Prophet's Last Sermon, peace be upon him!

"O men, listen well to my words, for I do not know whether I shall meet you again on such an occasion in the future.
O Men, your lives and your property shall be inviolate until you meet your Lord. the safety of your lives and of your property shall be as inviolate as this holy day and holy month. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Thus do I warn you. Whoever of you is keeping a trust of someone else shall return that trust to its rightful owner. All interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer inequity. God has judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to `abbas ibn `Abd al Muttalib shall henceforth be waived.
Every right arising out of homicide in pre-Islamic days is henceforth waived. And the first such right that I waive is that arising from the murder of Rabi`ah ibn al Harith ibn `Abd al Muttalib.
O Men, the devil has lost all hope of ever being worshiped in this land of yours. Nevertheless, he still is anxious to determine the lesser of your deeds. Beware of him, therefore, for the safety of your religion.
O Men, intercalation or tampering with the calendar is evidence of great unbelief and confirms the unbeliever in their misguidance. they indulge in it one year and forbid it the next in order to make permissible that which God forbade, and to forbid that which God has made permissible. The pattern according to which the time is reckoned is always the same. With God, the months are twelve in number. Four of them are holy. Three of these are successive and ones occurs singly between the months of Jumada and sha`ban.
O Men, to you a right belongs with respect to your women and to your women a right with respect to you. It is your right that they not fraternize with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to commit adultery. but if they do, then God has permitted you to isolate them within their homes and to chastise them without cruelty. but if they abide by your right, then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them, for they are your partners and committed helpers. Remember that you have taken them as your wives and enjoyed their flesh only under God’s trust and with His permission. Reason well, therefore, O Men, and ponder my words which I now convey to you.
I am leaving you with the Book of God and the Sunnah of His Prophet. If you follow them, you will never go astray.
O Men, harken well to my words. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to you own selves.
O God, have I conveyed Your message?

Rasulullah, saws, then imparted the new revelation which he had just received:
This day the disbelievers despair of prevailing against your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me! This day have I perfected your religion and fulfilled My favor unto you, and it hath been My good pleasure to choose Islam for you as your religion. (5:3)

O People, have I faithfully delivered unto you my message?

The congragation replied:
“Allahumma na`m” (Oh God, yes!)

The Prophet said:
“Oh God, bear witness.”

**************************************
From the Jerrahi Website

Jesus's brother & other family held Islamic views about Jesus, peace be upon him!

Found on brother Yursil Naqshbandi's "Mind Body Soul" blog.

The truth is becoming more visible... more and more people are coming to realize that the Prophet Jesus is a man and a messenger of God, like our own Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon them.