As-Salaam alaikum, In a way, death means to be invisible in this world; to disappear from it and reappear in the Heavens. This is the meaning of death to the Awliya. Remembrance of that gives us more spiritual power. When your spirit leaves your body, it will immediately be in its Heavenly station. Our soul is waiting, like a bird in a cage, to be free. When a man knows the truth of death he no longer fears it, but waits for it. This knowledge gives us love to reach our Heavenly home and also a way. We read it in the Hadith where the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said that the way to meet your Lord is death. If you don't like death, you don't want to meet your Lord.! All real believers must, therefore, like death - for it is the way to the Heavens. Thinking of death gives more power to our faith. The love of God is the power of our faith, the spirit of our faith. If you haven't any love for Allah, then you cannot have any faith. It is impossible.

As-Salaam alaikum, In a few days from now, we shall be in the Holy month of Ramadan for the year 1,447 After Hijrah, during which all Muslims in the world will embark on Fasting, and thereby observe one of the 5 pillars upon which Islam is built --- the other 4 being: TAWHEED, PRAYER(s) or SALLAH, ZAKKAT AND HAJJ. Fasting is incumbent on every Muslim who has attained manhood, and it begins on the appearance of the moon of Ramadan. It continues until the appearance of the moon of Shawwal - as Allah Ta'ala says in chapter 2 of the Holy Qur'an: -- ''O BELIEVERS, FASTING IS PRESCRIBED UNTO YOU.'' (2:183). And the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said that he was informed by Jibril, alaihi salaam, that Allah Ta'ala said, ''Fasting is Mine, and I have the best right to give recompense for it... al-Saum li wa-ana ajza bihi,'' because the religious practice of fasting is a mystery unconnected with any external thing, a mystery in which none other than Allah participates: hence the recompense is infinite. As we keep to fasting in the forthcoming month of Ramadan, we keep away from food, drink and also guard our eyes from lustful looks and the ear from listening to evil speech about anyone in his/her absence, and the tongue from vain or foul words, and the body from following after worldly things and disobedience to Allah. Anyone who acts in this manner truly keeps his/her fast, for the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said to a certain man, ''When you fast, let your ear fast and your eye and your tongue and your hand and every limb,'' and he also said, ''Many a one has no good of his fasting except hunger and thirst.''

As-Salaam alaikum, On/about chapter 109 of the Holy Qur'an, Surat al-Kafirun (those who reject faith), it has been narrated by an-Nisaa'i, Tirmidhi, al-Hakim and at-Tabarani and others on the authority of Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, who said the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said: -- ''Qul ya ayuhal Kafirun [reading chapter 109 of the Holy Qur'an] equals a fourth of the Qur'an.'' In another narration of Sa'ad: ''Whoever recites 'Qul-Ya ayuhal Kafirun' it is as if he recited a fourth of the Qur'an.'' And it has been related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud on the authority of Nufayl ibn Mu'awiyya who said that the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said: -- ''Whenever one of you retires to his bed at night he should recite: 'Qul ya ayuhal kafirun' and then goes to sleep after reading it will be free of polytheism [shirk].'' And it has been related by al-Daylami on the authority of Abdullah ibn Jaraad who said that the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said: - ''The hypocrite cannot pray the forenoon prayer (duhaa) nor can he recite: Qul ya ayuhal kafiruun.''

As-Salaam alaikum, Our Sheikh, al-Harith ibn Asad al-Musasibi, may Allah be pleased with him, in his book titled 'Kitab al-Mustarshid (Book of the Traveller on the Right Road)' wrote that: -- ''Know, O my brother, that sins produce heedlessness (ghafla)-- that is, the sinner is forgetful of God and His Law- and the heedlessness produces hardness of heart, and hardness of heart leads to alienation from God, and alienation from God leads to Hell.'' Whether a sin committed is small (saghira) or big/great (kabira), both types are to be avoided. Sheikh al-Muhasibi teaches that one cannot attain to the conquest of sin except by a sound purpose and a firm intention to combat desire; and by controlling one's inward self, for if the servant controls his/her self, he dominates his organs and he has knowledge of his own heart, and self-examination in what it desires becomes easy for him, by the leave of Allah Most High; but if you lose control of your inward self, God's command will seem hard to you, and your organs will go astray and your heart will be lost.... you will find yourself unfit for self-examination. Therefore keep to what is lawful, control your tongue except in what will aid you in approaching God Most High. Many Regards.

As-Salaam alaikum, In verse/ayat 32 of chapter 17 of the Holy Qur'an, Surat 'Isra, our Lord Allah Ta'ala says: -- ''AND COME NOT NEAR UNTO ADULTERY, VERILY! IT IS AN OBSCENITY AND AN EVIL WAY'' (17:32) Here, we are prohibited from even approaching Zina/adultery; thus educating us to the fact that: Any cause that leads to Haram act is also Haram, and thus should totally be avoided. Human instinct is such that no sooner do a strange man and woman meet in privacy, that a sensation of mutual attraction permeates the atmosphere between them. This attraction develops from stage to stage, from affection to uncontrollable passion and ultimately into the irreversible stage, where it is almost impossible to control the nafs, and finally the shameful deed of Zina is perpetrated. Therefore, Allah Ta'ala has made easy for us the beautiful pathway to chastity, purity and piety (taqwa), by declaring unlawful all those factors that contribute to the commission of Zina. Best Regards.

As-Salaam alaikum, In the Hadith-Qudsi, we read it where Allah Ta'ala says:-- ''I am the companion of him who remembers Me.'' (see Muslim, Ibn al-Hajjaj, al-Qushayri, Sahih Muslim, ed. Salim Hasim). In this hadith, it is discernable to hold that when someone is in the presence of the one he is remembering, he sees his companion, and as such, there is contemplation and vision. Seeing the other is a means of knowing the other, and knowing the other is, of course, necessary to consciousness of the self. In other words, if prayer is the road to self-consciousness, then he who does not pray, or does not do so in a manner true to its meaning, will not reach the desired destination, he who is not present with his Lord in prayer, neither hearing nor seeing Him, is not really praying. Rather, joy and knowledge are the fruits of mushahada [vision of God] that are endowed only upon those who have truly experienced the contemplative state exemplified in prayer/al-Sallah.

As-Salaam alaikum, In the Hadith, the Noble Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said: -- ''QALB AL-MU'MIN BAYT AR-RABB... The heart of the believer is the House of the Lord.'' And in a Hadith-Qudsi, Allah Ta'ala says: -- ''NEITHER EARTH NOR HEAVENS CONTAINED ME, BUT THE HEART OF THE BELIEVER CONTAINED ME.'' This is when the believer's heart is free of any impurities and all that is other than Allah Ta'ala.... the heart becomes Allah's Mansion... Allah's House when it becomes a place of His Self-Manifestation, a place to contemplate Him and keep His secret, the right place to receive the responsibility of Allah's Trust, as the means to know Allah with Allah, as He says in the Holy Tradition (hadith-qudsi): -- '' I have built inside the heart of the Son of Adam, a palace (qasr); in the chest there is a heart (qalb); in the heart, there is the inner heart (fu'ad); and in the inner heart, there is an innermost heart (shaghaf); and in the shaghaf, there is the kernel (lubb); and in the kernel, there is secret (sirr); in the sirr/secret, there is Me, that is the secret refers to the place for My manifestation and the place to know Me.'' We get to understand this more, when we recall another Hadith-Qudsi where Allah Ta'ala says:-- '' Man is My secret and I am his secret''... meaning that Allah Ta'ala place His secret or illuminative knowledge (Ma'arifah) in man -- with which man hears and sees Allah in all he does... nay, he exists only by Allah's Eistence. For further details/readings on this, see the source from which it is culled: 'Manhal al-Safi (Signs of the Sufis)', by Sheikh Dawud al-Fatani.

As-Salaam alaikum, In ayat 36 of Surat Ya-Sin of the Holy Qur'an, we read it where Allah Ta'ala says:-- ''Glory [be] to Allah, who created in pairs all things that the earth produces, as well as their own (human) kind; And (other) things of which they have no knowledge.'' (36:36) The mystery in creation and pairing runs through all creation.... of dates, trees, crops and fruits. Note how Allah Ta'ala made them of various tastes, smells, forms, shapes; different leaves of trees, different branches, lights and flowers, and the different forms of its fruits: some grow individually and others combined. And even among ourselves (mankind), come children-- male and female; and other things of which they/we have no knowledge. For in the sea, there are marvels that we have no knowledge of. Glory be to Allah, the Creator... who is abundant in His creation and invention.

As-Salaam alaikum, In the Holy Qur'an, Allah, the Most High and the Merciful, tells us that:-- ''Verily, Satan is an enemy to you: so treat him as an enemy. He only invites his adherents, that they may become companions of the blazing fire.'' (Surat Fatir- 35:6) Since Satan or Iblis is our avowed enemy, we should fight him, avoid and treat him as such... ie as a first class enemy. We can do this with the help of Allah, Glorified and Exalted Lord of the Universe. In so doing, it will aid us if we know Iblis well enough, so that in fighting him we adopt the right tactics and/or strategy. So, I bring to your attention the following important information about our enemy Iblis, may Allah curse him:-- Name: Iblis Town: The hearts empty of Allah's Zikr (Remembrance) Permanent Residence: The Hellfire Rank: A first class Disobedient Province: Places where Allah's Name is not mentioned Capital: False hopes Place of gathering: The markets Logo: Hypocrisy is the best manner His likes: People who are heedless about mentioning Allah His bothers: That someone asks Allah, Most High, for Forgiveness His home: The toilets and bathrooms His services: Enjoining the evil and adorning it Religion: Kufr (Disbelieving) His traps: Women His hobbies: Misguiding and seduction His main enemies: The Muslims Best of deeds according to him: Homosexuality and lesbianism What makes him cry: Lots of Sujud (Prostration) to Allah Ta'ala Destination: Hellfire. For more details on this, see: ''Man's Protection Against Jinn and Satan'', by Wahid Abdussalam Bali. Best Regards.

As-Salaam alaikum, 'O you who believe! Remember Allah! Continue to mention Him without limit, before sunrise and before sunset. He is the One who encourages, appreciates and supports you all, and replaces darkness and tyranny with Divine Light.'' So, we have to remember our Lord/Creator as much as we can... Praise Him before and after work (before sunrise and before sunset). Today, who remembers Allah when leaving or entering their house?...Some do but not many; that is why it is said that everything is perishable except Zikrullah, which goes with you to Paradise. Zikrullah is necessary for us, because it will throw away ghaflah or heedlessness from us. Whenever we forget to remember Him, Jallah Wa 'Alaa, then we are heedless and it is said that we have to guard and/or be careful of the moment of ghafala as in that moment Shaytan will come! You will be an easy target for Shaytan when you are in a state of heedlessness. Zikr is the key for happiness, the light of souls and our backbone in the journey on the Way to Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.

As-Salaam alaikum, In his book, 'Futuhat al-Makkiyyah', Sayyadi Ibn Arabi (1165-1240), may Allah be Merciful to him, devoted a whole chapter entitled the Presence of the Nourisher (Hadrat al-muqit), in which Sheikh Sahl Ibn Abdullah al-Tustari's ideas on this subject were elaborated. He mentions a telling incident:-- ''He [Sahl] was asked about nourishment, to which he replied 'Allah'! It was then said to him, 'We are asking about food,' to which he [again] replied, 'Allah'. Then the questioner said: 'I am asking you about the nourishment of bodies or persons.' Sahl [then] knew that the questioner was ignorant of what he intended and so Sahl descended [to his level] by an answer with another breath, different from the first breath... then Sahl said to him, 'What have you to do with them', meaning the bodies, 'leave the houses to their Builder. If He wills He will destroy them and if He wills He will fill them.' Sahl thus retained his first answer but in another form. The house is filled through its dweller and nourishment [of the body] is Allah just like he said the first time, except that [now] the questioner was satisfied with the second answer.'' A slightly modified version of this event is cited in Abu Talib al-Makki's book, 'Nourishment of Hearts (Qut al-Qulub)', where al-Makki writes:-- ''Sahl was asked about nourishment. He replied, 'his nourishment is Allah Most High.' The man said, 'I asked about his bodily sustenance.' He replied, '[it is] the Remembrance of Allah.' The man said, 'I asked about food.' He replied: 'his meal is knowledge.' The man [then] said again: 'I meant food for the body.' He said: 'What do you have to do with the body? Leave the body to the One who took charge of it in pre-eternity, He will take charge of it now.' What all this establish is that austerity regarding food is not rooted in asceticism for its own sake, but in a mystical vision that identified Allah Ta'ala not just as the Provider of nourishment, but the nourishment itself. And as observed by Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali in his 'Ihya Ulumuddin', ''Wisdom and Knowledge lie in hunger whereas disobedience and ignorance lie in satiation.''

fine-tuning.pdf As-Salaam alaikum, For everyday life and indeed for all times, there is that imperative need for us, for you to fine-tune our/your relationship with Allah- our Creator, Lord and Sustainer. This is obvious, noting that Allah is and we are not; everything is His while we have nothing. On how to go about fine-tuning our relationship with Allah Ta'ala, see attached herewith two documents/files on this important matter, offered by Sheikh Taner Ansari for your perusal. Yes, brief files but concise and to the point. Enjoy them... and Learn therefrom. Best Regards. sufi_goal.pdf

As-Salaam alaikum, ''And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, He shall suffice him'' (Talaq 65:3) ''And in Allah let the believers put all their trust'' (Ibrahim 14:11) In the Hadith also, it is related that the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said: ''There shall enter Paradise of my community 70,000 without reckoning: those are they that neither make auguries, nor brand themselves, nor use spells, but trust their Lord.'' (Bukhari) Trust in itself and its manifestation in the heart, is this: to believe in Allah and to rely on Him, taking rest and assurance in Him as regards all that He has guaranteed; to expel from the heart all anxiety over the affairs of this world, and the means of sustenance, and every matter of which Allah has Himself taken charge; and to know that of every matter of which man stands in need, be it of this world or the next, Allah is the ruler and provider, for none but Allah can withhold it from him. In trust, all desire and trepidation must depart from the heart, with all fear, if these be connected with other than Allah: for a man must have confidence in Him, and a full knowledge and firm conviction that Allah's hand is outreached towards him, to provide him with all that he seeks- for no good shall befall him save by Allah's Command and no evil shall overtake him save with His leave.

As-Salaam alaikum, Iyadh bin Ghanam narrated that Allah's Messenger, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said:-- ''I was informed by the Heavenly hosts of Angels that the most dignified among my followers are people who rejoice in public when they ponder the Vastness of Allah's all-compassing Mercy and Compassion, and they weep privately when they contemplate the rigorous punishment He reserved for the sinners and the deniers of the truth. They sit in His Blessed Masjid (mosques) morning and evening- worshipping Him and celebrating His Praises inwardly; and they implore Him with their tongues outwardly with reverence and awe. They pray to Him with their hands raised as well as lowered... they take little from people, and yet it bears heavily on their hearts. They walk barefooted, humble, unpretentious, and unnoticed just like ants, without finery; and they are free of self-adulation. They walk with dignity and serenity, and they rise to the nearest of their Lord through their link to His Messenger. They wear the garment of good conduct and follow the clear proof. They read the Qur'an regularly, take their daily guidance from it, and they happily make the necessary personal sacrifices to meet its requirements. Almighty Allah has surrounded them with distinguished witnessing angels and faithful guardians, and He has illumined their faces with effulgence as a sign of His blessings upon them and as a demonstration of His satisfaction with them.'' Allahu Akbar!! May Allah Ta'ala include us among these Servants of His, ameen. Culled from:- HILYATUL AWLIYA, WA TABAQAT AL-ASFIYA (The Beauty of the Righteous and Ranks of the Elite), by Abu Nu'aim al-Isfahani.

As-Salaam alaikum, Real Imaan (faith) in Islam is to love the Noble Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, more than you love yourself. In verse/ayat 80 of Surat Nisa'i of the Holy Qur'an, we have it stated:-- ''He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah.'' (4:80) This is as if Allah Ta'ala is saying to Muslims, the World, the Universe and everything He created, 'If you love whom I love, you will be accepted.' It is only with adaab (good manners) and discipline that we can approach Allah's Divine Presence. Even with this, it has to be through obedience. And there is no obedience without love, so whoever love Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, loved Allah, which is why He said:-- ''Say: (O Muhammad), if you [really] love Allah, then follow me! Allah will love you and forgive your sins and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful'' (3:31) This ayat shows us the importance of loving the Prophet. Here, we are not speaking about obligations, which we have to observe, we have to do, but some people say, Don't love or praise too much as that is Shirk. Hadith: ''You will not be a true believer until you love me more than your children and parents and all creation'' (Bukhari and Muslim) Who is first, your mother or father, your brother and sister or the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam? That is it! Allah Ta'ala is saying, 'I want you to love the Prophet more than anyone'!!