Content Soul

February, 2011

• 17 February

  In Search of Barakah

  Jabir رضى الله عنه reported that Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم commanded the licking of the fingers and the dish, saying: “You do not know in what portion the blessing lies.” [Reported by Muslim] This hadeeth teaches us that when we eat, we should not assume that the barakah (blessings) will be in the main part of the meal. …
• 10 February

  Constancy in Solitude

  Today is the final post in the series related to constancy in 8 things. Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said in a hadeeth ,”Solitude is better than bad company but good company is better than solitude.” [Bayhaqi – Shu’ab al Imaan] In this day and age especially, we should endeavour to stay away from bad company and remain in an …
• 4 February

  Contentment with the Decree of Allah

  Over the past few weeks, we have been posting some brief points regarding constancy in 8 things which are necessary in the beginning stages of tazkiyah. Today’s post is the penultimate in this series concerning the decree of Allah سبحانه وتعالى. Allah says in a verse of the Holy Qur’an: مَا أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ إِلَّا …

January, 2011

• 27 January

  Constancy in Remembrance of Allah and Negating Stray thoughts

  Allah  سبحانه وتعالى says in the Holy Qur’an: أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find contentment [Sura al Ra’ad 13:28] A person should strive to remember Allah سبحانه وتعالى in every situation, whether in public or in private. One way to achieve this is to recite the sunnah du’as (supplications) prescribed by Rasulullah …
• 6 January

  Constancy in Purity and Fasting

  Over the next few posts, we will elaborate briefly on the points mentioned in ‘Constancy in 8 Things‘. Constancy in purity and worship means that one’s external purity is reflected in one’s inner self.  One should strive to be in a perpetual state of wudhu, especially one who seeks to reach the rank of ihsaan. Wudhu is also the weapon …

December, 2010

• 3 December

  Pie in the Sky?

  Perhaps we are very neglectful of spirituality because today even though we may profess to be Muslims we have been so affected by materialism that we devote all our attention to those things that are material. So we place trust in money instead of Allah. We rely more on material things than we rely upon tawakkul (faith in Allah). We …

November, 2010

• 18 November

  Pearls of Wisdom 2

  A few more pearls of wisdom taken from some of the majalis (gatherings for spiritual training) held by  Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq in 1998: •    Hub-e-Jaah (love of name,fame and recognition) is normally the last  thing that leaves a person’s heart even though the other spiritual ailments like love of wealth and dunya may have been removed. •    Ishraafun Nafs …
• 12 November

  Pearls of Wisdom 1

  Below are some pearls of wisdom taken from a few majalis (gatherings for spiritual training) held by  Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq in 1998: •    Part of the cure to the diseases of the heart is to realise their dangers and how they manifest themselves in a person. •    If a person does not work on purifying his inner, his external …

October, 2010

• 28 October

  Eradication of Spiritual Diseases

  قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا He who purifies the soul, he is successful. [Surah al Shams 91:9] Just as the body falls ill, the ruh (soul) also falls ill.The illnesses of the ruh include pride, jealousy, malice, hatred, love of dunya (worldly life) and suspicion. However, we are not concerned with these spiritual diseases although the health of the ruh should …
• 21 October

  Hard of Heart

  Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Auf رضى الله عنه repeatedly made the dua ‘Oh Allah! Protect me from the greed of my own soul’. A person who is greedy becomes enslaved to his own nafs and not to Allah سبحانه وتعالى. Such a person becomes hard-hearted and it is very difficult to talk sense into a person who begins to follow …
• 14 October

  Pause and Reflect

  One of the main teachings of tazkiyah is muraqabah. Most people think that muraqabah is to sit in a dark room with one’s head bowed and meditate. The original meaning would literally mean ‘to watch over and monitor oneself’. We should, in general, meditate and reflect over our condition all the time, whenever we have a few moments to think. …

September, 2010

• 17 September

  Oh Allah! Grant my soul its taqwah and purify it

  A famous du’a (supplication) of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is: اللَّهُمَّ آتِ نَفْسِي تَقْوَاهَا وَزَكِّهَا أَنْتَ خَيْرُ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا أَنْتَ وَلِيُّهَا وَ مَوْلَاهَا ‘Oh Allah! Grant my soul its taqwa and purify it, for you are the best who can purify it, for you are the Master of my soul and you are the Keeper o f my …
• 10 September

  When my nafs tells me to remain silent…

  An alim (scholar) was asked ‘How do you learn to control your tongue?’. His reply was amazing. He said ‘My way of controlling my tongue is as follows; whenever my nafs tells me to speak, I remain silent. Whenever my nafs tells me to remain silent, I speak’. There is a wealth of information in these words of wisdom. When …
• 2 September

  Oh Nafs! Isn’t it true…?

  One great scholar in a classical piece of writing addresses his nafs (soul) and says ‘Oh Soul! Admit! Isn’t it true that when I recite the Qur’an you feel fatigue, tiredness and you remind me of the need for the body to rest. You feel the desire to go away and lie down. You remind me of the obligation of …

August, 2010

• 26 August

  Why do we still sin in Ramadhan?

  Why do we still fall victim to desire and continue to sin during Ramadhan? We know that the shayateen (devils) are locked up in Ramadhan so why do we still persist in sin during this blessed month? This is not due to the shayateen misleading us but rather our own nafs. Committing certain sins has almost become second nature for …
• 19 August

  The Month of Silence

  Anas bin Malik رضى الله عنه relates that Ramadhan arrived so the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, ‘Indeed this month has come upon you, and therein is a night which is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of it is deprived of all good, and none is deprived of it except one who is truly deprived’ [Reported …
• 5 August

  Spiritual Deterioration

  Man naturally deteriorates in spirituality over time. This is because no effort is required for this to happen. When a person is not doing any good, he falls into this state of decline. It is not that a person sins then a person becomes bad and only then declines in spirituality. Rather, if a person does not do anything, neither …

July, 2010

• 29 July

  Designer Spirituality

  Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in a verse of Surah Furqan: أَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ أَفَأَنتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ وَكِيلًا Have you not seen he who has made his nafs god? [N.B. Partial translation] [Surah al Furqan 25:43] In a hadeeth Sayyidina Shaddad ibn Aws رضى الله عنه narrated that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ …
• 8 July

  A Spiritual Death

  The spirit is divine in origin. Thus, its nourishment and means of keeping it healthy are also divine; that nourishment is the Qur’an and dhikr of Allah. As Muslims we should pay more attention to the spirit than the body. Materialism is about denying spirituality; anything beyond the tangible is denied. Even if this denial is not by tongue then …
• 1 July

  Follow the Sunnah

  It is impossible to attain the rank of being loved by Allah سبحانه وتعالى without adhering to the shariah and following the sunnah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. [This quote is taken from a brothers’ majlis (spiritual gathering) held by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 27th July 2005].