SELF PURIFICATION --- A REALITY IN BRIEF

(Preface)

 All Praise is for Allah, and His Blessings be upon His Prophet, who is kind and benevolent.

I acknowledge it with great reverence, that whatever is being said is derived from the teachings of my Sheikh (Spiritual guide) Hazrat Jee (as we would call him during and after his life time) Maulana Ghulam Rabbani (May Allah shower His immense blessings on him) who was actually a living composite of Revealed Law of Islam (Shari’a) and straight path to the devotion to Allah by all means (called as Tariqat in Muslim mystics) By his able guidance this humble soul is in a position to write a few words on this topic.

If you find anything flawed, kindly ignore it and attribute it to me.

Our Hazrat Jee always subjugated the Tariqat to Shariat. We would often hear him saying, “Sharia is the Ruler over every Human soul and Jinn, Tariqat is the slave of Sharia, Tariqat was an aide to Sharia, Tariqat is to help you follow the Principles of Sharia”. To be concise Sharia is the real, essential and vital. Hazrat Jee would give us practical training, and very specifically would teach to adopt Sunnah (the practical teachings of the Holy Prophet) and Mustahibbat (preferable elective deeds of Islamic sharia). In commercial dealings and in social intercourse, he would always emphasize adherence to Sharia. It was not possible to live as a Muslim without fulfilling religious obligations (faraiz)

 Hazrat Jee would also explain us the core meanings of Tariqat. The word was derived from Arabic word, ‘tareeq’ meaning a path. When we tread continuously on a grassy field, there would be an alleyway where no follicle would grow, due to constant friction of the heels; this path is called tareeq in Arabic Language. The intention of Tariqat is that by uninterrupted remembrance of Allah SWT there develops a relationship between ones heart and that of the Creator; where none else would have any interference. The heart and soul become immune to the pulls of worldly stuff. One would not be inclined towards anyone, other than Allah SWT for submission .One would not be ready to rely on any one other than Allah SWT. The heart and soul by all means would be attentive to Allah’s SWT presence. Ziker (Remembrance of Allah) and meditation is all for this purpose.

All the struggle is for this reason, that most of our time is spent in manner that we feel that Allah SWT is watching us and we don’t commit contrary to His commands. That is what our Sheikh used to emphasize that you should only bother about the assent of Allah SWT. He would say that people wish mostly for abstinence, being the spiritual guide (Sheikh) and reward of virtue in future state, but rarely for the love of Allah SWT.

To get His concurrence first step is following of the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (SAW). One cannot get the gratification of Allah SWT without following the footsteps of the Holy Prophet (Sunnah). To develop ones heart in a manner wherein each and every ritual of the Holy Prophet (SAW) becomes so dear, that an individual is constrained to follow Sunnah, the lip service of the love of Prophet (SAW) does not satisfy ones inner self. This is the objective of Tariqat. To achieve this end we have to devout our time for remembrance of Allah (Ziker Elahi) meditation (Maraqaba) and companionship (Suhbat) with pious souls (Ahl Allah). (May Allah make this easy for all of us to understand the true meanings of this philosophy and it gets root into our hearts and souls).

One more important thing we learnt from our Sheikh; is the differentiation between means and end. Means to reach the targets should remain as means and their importance should be properly placed... We often lose our sight of the objectives and get stuck up in means to those goals. We should be rightly focused on the aims all the time.

On next few pages I have tried to explain mysticism as a subordinate to Shariah in the light of Quran, Sunnah and interpretations of our Sheikh. May Allah grant us His Divine wisdom to understand the real core of our religion, and spend our lives according to the conjunctions of Islam. Amen

Modest soul!

Maqbool Ahmad (May Allah forgive my misdeeds)

Jamia Masjid Naqshbandi, Alflah Town, Bedian Road, Lahore Cantt.

www.manaqshbandi.net

manaqshbandi@gmail.com