A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Egyptian wayfarer, Sayyid Abu al-Wafa’ ibn Muhammad ‘Isa al-Wafa’i ( q.s. ), requested that ,Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) make a special pact of brotherhood with him and initiate him on the spiritual path.  Imam al-Haddad ( q.s. ) agreed to this and then gave him a series of counsels.  He begins by mentioning taqwa and other obligations and finishes with the counsels mentioned below.  He gives the advice to himself first, then to Sayyid Abu al-Wafa’ ( q.s. ) and then to any true seeker or spiritual wayfarer.   He said, “I counsel myself and him to have sincerity in all his states, deeds and words; to trust fully in Allah, to surrender his affair to Allah, to rely upon Allah and to return to Allah.   I counsel him not to be attached to this dunya and to be content with a small amount of worldly things – food, clothing, accommodation and other things.  Let his state be that of a serious travelle...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following are the thoughts of Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad,Ba ‘Alawi ( q.s. ) on wird and stations.  This was translated by Dr. Muhammad Muswthafa al-Badawi.   He was asked about the saying of Shaykh Husayn ibn ‘Abdullah Ba-Fadhl ( q.s. ): “Take a brief wird to be used alone, if necessary, a medium one to use when needed, and a long one to use when one’s state is one of breast expansion.  The briefest possible form is to silently run it in one's mind.”   He answered, “Praise is for Allah.  You inquire about the saying of the Sufi, Shaykh Husayn, son of the scholar, the Imam ‘Abdallah Ba al-Haj Ba-Fadhl, ( q.s. ), concerning awrad and so on.  The intention and gist of it is that one should always persevere in his awrad and maintain it as much as possible and in a manner to suit each circumstance.   As for his saying that you should have a concise wird , a medium and a lengthy one, thes...