A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) wrote, “Certainty is power, firmness and stability of faith so great that it becomes as a towering mountain which no doubts and illusions can shake.  Rather, doubts and illusions disappear completely, and when doubts come from outside, they are neither listened to by the ear, nor heeded by the heart.   Shaythan cannot approach the possessor of such certainty; he flees from him, fears his very shadow, and is content to keep at a safe distance.   Certainty results from confidence in what Allah ( s.w.t. ) has Guaranteed, turning to Allah ( s.w.t. ) with pure longing, abandoning all things which distract from Him, continuously returning to Him in all circumstances, and spending all one’s energy in seeking His Good Pleasure.   In sum, certainty is the essential thing, and all other noble ranks, praiseworthy traits of character, and good works, are its branches and results....

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “Someone who seeks to travel the Path of Allah ( s.w.t. ) should begin with a sound repentance from all his sins.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, as found in “The Lives of Man”, “It is unusual to find a youth established in obedience, longing for good works, and neglectful of worldly desires and ephemeral pleasures: ‘Your Lord Wonders at a young man who shows no passions.’   And the Messenger of Allah ( s.a.w. ) included, among the seven that Allah ( s.w.t. ) will Shade with His Shade, ‘on the day when no shade shall exist save His’, a ‘young man who grew up in the service of Allah.’   It has been related that Allah ( s.w.t. ) Said, ‘O young man who has abandoned his passions for My sake: you are to Me as are some of My angels.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “You must fill up your time with acts of worship so that no period of time elapses, whether by night or by day, without being used in some act of goodness.  This is how the barakah within time is made manifest, the purpose of life is fulfilled, and the approach to Allah ( s.w.t. ) made constant.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) wrote, “Knowledge is based on research and analysis, but states are based on believing and conceding.  When the knower speaks from the standpoint of exoteric knowledge, we measure his words against the Book, the sunnah , and the pronouncements of the predecessors, for knowledge is measured against its sources; but when he speaks from the stand point of his state, we concede his experiences to him, for it can be reached solely through the same manner and is based on his experience.  Such knowledge is accepted on the authority of the honesty of its possessor, but it is not followed, since it is not binding save on people of similar states.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “Remove the love of gold and silver from your heart until they become as pebbles and sand in your eyes.  Remove the wish to be thought highly of from your heart until you are indifferent to people’s praise and condemnation, and to whether they are attracted or repulsed by you.  For the love of prominence is more harmful than that of money, and both indicate desire for the world.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) wrote, in “The Rights of Children”, “Indeed upon parents are the rights of the children.  That is in maintaining the meeting of their requirements so long as they are dependant of it.  This includes teaching them adab , beautiful nurturing as well as guidance towards a praiseworthy disposition, traits of excellence and striking meticulous qualities.  Protect and shield them from the opposite of that.   Choose beautiful names for them, and to choose for them blessed mothers from among the devout, praiseworthy and fertile, as per what the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said,  ‘Also it is upon them to be equal in distribution of offerings between them and to not let natural attachments or desires of the soul place one child over another.’   Vital for the parent at the forefront of the rights of the child is beautifying character and nurturing in order to inculcate for them love of all ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “A disciple is one who is not enslaved by other than God, nor by events; he is one who is neither vanquished by appetites nor dominated by habits.  His words are invocation and wisdom, his silence reflection and heeding examples.  His actions precede his words and are proof of his knowledge.  His inner garment is reverence and gravity, his cloak humility and modesty.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “It is said that ‘ Laa ilaha illa Allah ’ protects those who say it, unless they come to trade their religion for this world.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi  al-Haddad ( q.s. ) wrote, in his  Risalah al-Mu’awanah , “Be humble for humility is the attribute of believers.   Beware of pride for God does not like the proud.   Those who humble themselves are Raised up by God, and those who are proud are Abased by Him.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “ Dzikr is a magnet which moves hearts from heedlessness, and charges them with attraction to the world of the unseen.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “One action influences a thousand people more than a thousand words influence one person.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “It is clearly evident that those who prefer the world to the Hereafter are doubt-ridden sceptics, while those who treat them equally are unintelligent fools.   Only those who prefer the Hereafter are intelligent and resolute believers.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “A seeker is not a seeker until he is able to find, in the Qur’an, everything that he wants; he knows the difference between his shortfall from the perfection; his needs become independent of the slaves by the Lord; and regards gold and dust as equal.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh ‘Abdulllah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “Reflection is the lamp of the heart.  If it departs, the heart will have no light.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “Know that hearing and eyesight are two open doors, whatever enters through them reaches the heart.  How many a thing does a man see or hear, which he should not have, but that once they have entered the heart, it proves difficult to remove them?”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “Hope and fear are two wings by means of which those who are brought near fly to every commendable station, and two mounts on which every steep ascent of the paths of the next world is traversed.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “The key to sincerity is qiyam al-layl , because only the sincere wake and stand when others are lying asleep.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) wrote, “A seeker is one who is thankful and grateful upon the Favours of Allah, endures trials and afflictions patiently, is content with the bitter decrees, praises his Lord in times of ease and hardship, and remains true to Him secretly and openly.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad ( q.s. ) said, “A seeker is not a seeker until he is able to find, in the Qur’an, everything that he wants, he knows the difference between his shortfall from the perfection, his needs become independent of the slaves by the Lord, and regard gold and dust as equal.”