Part 1

Now this is a firm principle in the Way to God, for in this Path there is no taint or veil more difficult to remove than self-conceit. God in His kindness hath barred the way of error against His friends. Their actions. however good, are not approved by the vulgar, who do not see them as they really are; and they themselves do not regard their works of mortification, however numerous, as proceeding from their own strength and power : consequently they are not pleased with themselves and are protected from self-conceit. Whoever is approved by God is disapproved by the vulgar, and whoever is elected by himself is not among the elect of God. Thus Iblis was approved by mankind and accepted by the angels, and he was pleased with himself; but since God was not pleased with him, their approval only brought a curse upon him.

Adam, on the other hand, was disapproved by the angels, who said: “Wilt thou place there one who will do evil therein?” and was not pleased with himself, for he said: “O Lord, we have done ourselves a wrong” but since God was pleased with him, the disapproval of the angels and his own displeasure bore the fruit of mercy. Let all men, therefore, know that those accepted by the people are rejected by us. Hence the blame of mankind is the food of the friends of God because it is a token of Divine approval ; it is the delight of the saints of God, because it is a sign of nearness to Him : they rejoice in it even as other men rejoice in popularity. There is a Tradition, which the Apostle received from Gabrield, that God said : “My friends (saints) are under My cloak: save Me, none knoweth them except My friends.”

Kashf al-Mahjub “Revelation of the Veiled”

After spending some time with the past, everything new seems like cheap plastic.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Russian conquests in the North Caucasus fought the Muslim peoples of the Caucuses, the Daghestanis, Chechens, Ingush, and others, and incorporated them into the Russian state.

34th Grandshaykh of the Osmanli Naksibendi Order, Shaykh Muhummad al-Yaraghi (K.S.) was one of the leading Shaykhs speaking of defending against these incursions. However, he focused intimately on the purification of the self as a first priority, he is quoted as saying:

Go to the mosques, weep and pray in repentance, shake dreams from your eyes and God will forgive you and restore you to the righteous path and arm you for great deeds.

Then [after purification of their souls] Almighty God will reinforce you for the battle against the kaafir. Azrail will fly over the Russian troops, their bayonets and cannons will not be dangerous to you and you will learn that God has more power than any earthly tsar.

You must be ready when the hour comes and you are called to battle. God will give me a sign when this day has arrived and I will tell you. Meanwhile, pray and weep.

ref: In Quest for God and Freedom, Zelkina

There was a close bond between Mawlana Ala ad-Din and the venerable Shaikh Abd al-Kabir Yamani. At the beginning of his spiritual career, Shaikh Abd al-Kabir used to leave his native Yemen and travel about in the Arab and Persian lands. After twenty years of wandering, he became a resident in the vicinity of the Sacred Shrine [in Mecca]. At the time, he seems to have been the meeting point of visitors to the blessed sites. Mawlana Ala ad-Din was frequently in contact with him, during his residence at the Sacred Shrine [Haram].

The Shaikh asked Mawlana: “What is wrongdoing [zulm]?”

“Putting something in a place that is not its proper place.”

“The place in which to remember the Truth is the heart. It is wrongdoing to put anythin gother than the Truth into that place.”

The Shaikh also asked: “What is rememberance [zikr]?”

“It is the affirmation of Oneness [Tawhid].”

“This is not remembrance; it is worship [ibada].”

“What is remembrance, then? You tell me!”

“Remembrance is acknowledging that it is not possible for Him to be truly acknowledged.”

The Shaykh went on to say: “It is necessary to emphasize ignorance, and to formulate the intention to perform the ritual prayer by saying ‘I shall worship Allah, whom I am incapable of truly knowing!’”

-Rashahat Ain al-Hayat

Al Madina Institute will be conducting a 2 day seminar entitled:

A Portrait of the Prophet: A commentary on Ash’Shama’il Al Muhammadiya of Imam Tirmidhi

Teacher: Shaykh Muhammad Bin Yahya An’ Ninowy

Location: Islamic Society of Baltimore

Date: January 19th and 20th (10am to 5pm each day)

Registration: http://www.almadinainstitute.org/almadina/portraitoftheprophet/

Limited Space, Please Register Early

About the Text:

“Among that which has been compiled concerning his virtues and his morals (Allah bless him and give him peace), the finest is the concisely comprehensive book of at-Tirmidhi, describing his conduct in the most perfect manner, since it is as if the student of this book is studying the outward appearance of that Excellency, and is viewing his noble merits in every chapter.”
-Shaykh Ali Al’Qari

The Book of the Virtues, by al-Imam at-Tirmidhi, is a book unique of its kind, unequaled in its arrangement and its comprehensiveness, to the point where that book has been counted among the precious gifts, and it has flown in the regions of the East and the West. ”
-Shaykh Ibrahim Al Bajuri

The followers of the Truth (ahli-i haqq) are distinguished by their being the objects of vulgar blame, especially the eminent ones of this community. The Apostle, who is the examplar and leader of the adherents of the Truth, and who marches at the head of the lovers (of God), was honoured and held in good repute by all until the evidence of the Truth was revealed to him and inspiration came upon him. Then the people loosed their tongues to blame him. Some said, “He is a soothsayer;’ others, “He is a poet; ” others, “He is a madman ;” others, “He is a liar;” and so forth.. And God says, describing the true believers : “They fear not the blame of anyone ; that is the grace of God which he bestows on whomsoever He pleases ; God is bounteous and wise (Kor. v 59). Such is the ordinance of God, that He causes those who discourse of Him to be blamed by the whole world, but preserves their hearts from being preoccupied by the world’s blame. This He does in His jealousy : He guards His lovers from glancing aside to “other” (ghayr) lest the eye of any stranger should behold the beauty of their state; and He guards them also from seeing themselves, lest they should regard their own beauty and fall into self-conceit and arrogance. Therefore He hath set the vulgar over them to loose the tongues of blame against them, and hath made the blaming soul (nafs-i lawwama) part of their composition in order that they may be blamed by others for whatever they do and by themselves for doing evil or for doing good imperfectly.

–Kashf Al-Mahjub of Al-Hujwiri: “The Revelation of the Veiled” : An Early Persian Treatise on Sufism