A Muslim Convert Once More

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Here are three points about the Naqshbandi thariqa’ .  It does not make the thariqa’ better or worse than any other since I do not subscribe to any sort of exceptionalism in thuruq .  But it does make it unique and gives it its own flavour. The bay’ah in Naqshbandi is given to the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) through Abu Bakr asw-Swiddiq ( r.a. ).  This is unique amongst the 40 thuruq .  In all the other thariqa’ , the silsilah of the bay’ah is through ‘Ali ibn Abi Thalib ( k.w. ).  The sirr that was passed through ‘Ali ( k.w. ) entered the Golden Chain through Imam Ja’far asw-Swadiq ( q.s. ), the fifth murshid of the Naqshbandi. The first shaykh of Ghawts al-A’azham , Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani ( q.s. ), was Shaykh Abu Ya’qub Yusuf al-Hamdani ( q.s. ) who was the quthb of his time.  When Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir ( q.s. ) was a teenager, he visited Shaykh al-Hamdani ( q.s. ) at Baghdad along with Shaykh ibn S...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is adapted from a swuhbah by Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani ( q.s. ) on the 24 th March 2010.   Allah ( s.w.t. ) Sends knowledge and guidance to His servants so that they do not remain heedless.  All of dunya that we have earned, will only be for this short life.  It does not follow us into the hereafter.  They belong to us for a moment here before being transferred to others.  But Shaythan is always whispering to man to seek more of dunya without boredom and to leave the hereafter.   Look at those who trade on the stock market.  They sit all day and night, staring at the figures on the stock exchange board.  They are so full of concentration to ensure that the stocks they are trading in, makes profits; they never want to make losses.  Even the loss of a dollar makes them upset.  They only want to profit.  Allah ( s.w.t. ) Gives them what they strive for although ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is adapted from a swuhbah by Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani ( q.s. ) on the 08 th February 2010.   Nothing from this world is of any help to us but so many of us depend completely on our worldly gifts to support ourselves.   The majority of mankind is chasing this worldly life, seeking materialism to protect themselves.   But Protection from evil is only from the Divine, for this world is full of evil, full of devils who have set countless traps for every person.   For every human being on earth, there is at least seven shayathin dedicated to him.   In these Last Days, the shayathin are striving ceaselessly, setting traps for our eyes, our ears, our minds, our tongues, our feet, our stomachs, our hearts - these are dangerous traps; only Allah ( s.w.t. ) can Extend to us His Divine Protection.   Nothing from dunya can protect us from them.   How many of us are aware that we will be G...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following are some ahadits and their explanation about tawaswswul , intercession.   This also addresses some of the verses usually cited to deny it.   Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani ( r.a. ) wrote, in Tahdzib at-Tahdzib , that Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah al-Hakim an-Nishaburi ( r.a. ) said that he heard Shaykh Abu ‘Ali Hasan ibn ‘Ali ad-Daqqaq ( r.a. ) say, “I was in extreme depression, then I saw Prophet ( s.a.w. ) in my dream.   He said, ‘Go to the grave of Yahya ibn Yahya, recite istighfar , and ask for help through his intercession.   Your problem will be solved.’   I did that, and my problem was solved in the morning.”   Here, Imam ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani ( r.a. ) showed that visiting the tombs of the awliya’ and seeking their intercession is a meritorious and approved act.   Imam Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi ( r.a. ) wrote, in his Majmu...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Nizhami Khanjawi Jamal ad-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas ibn Yusuf ( q.s. ) wrote:   “For the sake of one wish yet unfulfilled, He thought but little of everything else that Heaven had Granted him. That is how human beings are made. If prayers remain unanswered, Do we ever reflect that it may be for our good? We feel sure that we know our needs, Yet the future is Veiled from our eyes. The thread of our fate ends outside the visible world, And what today we mistake for a padlock keeping us out, We may tomorrow find to be a key that lets us in.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The Wahhabi sect believes that Allah (s.w.t.) being istawa’ , Established, on the Throne is literal, and that He is sitting, julus .   سُوۡرَةُ طٰه تَنزِيلاً۬ مِّمَّنۡ خَلَقَ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ وَٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ ٱلۡعُلَى (٤) ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ عَلَى ٱلۡعَرۡشِ ٱسۡتَوَىٰ (٥)   A Revelation from Him Who Created the Earth and the Heavens on high.   (Allah) Most Gracious is Firmly Established on the Throne (of Authority). (Surah ThaHa:4-5)   Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Swalih al-‘Utsaymin in his Majmu’ al-Fatawa , “With respect to the sitting, ibn al-Qayyim reported in as-Sawa’iq , 1303/4, from Kharijah ibn Mus’ab with respect to the Saying of Allah the Exalted, ‘The Most Gracious is Firmly Established on the Throne (of Authority)’, how can the ascension be anything other than sitting?   And the mention of sitting has been reported in the hadits from Imam Ahmad from ibn ‘Abbas, in a marfu’ fashion.   And Allah Knows...