The Reality of Tasawwuf

Here Hazrat Shaykh (رحمة الله عليه) explains the reality of Tasawwuf to Ra-eesul Ahraar (Maulana Habeebur Rahman (رحمة الله عليه) , a person that he initially had an unfriendly relationship with. However, Hazrat Shaykh (رحمة الله عليه)'s thorough yet concise explanation sparked a change in their relationship and they became close friends in the end.

Many are the ones alive to this day who can confirm how much love Hazrat Maulana Abdul Qadir had for me. My friend Soofi Iqbal of Medina was previously a worker in Pakistan. Whenever Hazrat Raipuri visited Pakistan, Soofi Iqbal wrote to me asking me: "When you reply my letter, please send greetings to Hazrat Raipuri (in Pakistan), because in the Majlis after Asr if I say to him that I have received a letter from my Shaykh who gives salaams to you, i am quickly called to come near to the bedstead on which Hazrat is seated and he asks about your welfare. In this manner, I get the opportunity to sit near his bed till Maghrib time."

People have come to know of his connection with me. Hence whenever they go to Raipur from here, the first question Hazrat asks is: "Did you meet Shaykh before coming here?" If the person says "Yes", he spoke to them quite freely, asking about my welfare and whether I had perhaps sent some message. And if the person answered "No", then he did not take any notice of him after that. In any case, he treated all of them according to the degree of contact with me. Because of this, many people were quite disappointed in that they had to merely come here to me to stand and shake hands with me before going to Raipur even though they did not really want to meet me.

Of those was Ra-ees Saheb. They came to meet me in order to be able to say that they have come from Saharanpur, have met me, and that I had sent greetings. And I too, in spite of not wanting to do so, as far as some people were concerned, and in spite of my very busy schedule with very urgent duties, called such people and asked them to pass on my salaam to Hazrat. I feared they will lie in saying that they have met me and that I had sent salaams, while it was completely untrue.

For many years this was the type of meeting with Ra-eesul Ahraar. One morning at 10 o'clock I was extremely busy in my room when Moulvy Naseer came to inform me that Ra'ees Sahem was there, en route to Raipur wanting to shake hands with me. I called him up to my room. He came up and while still climbing the stairs greeted me stretching his hand towards me saying: "I am going to Raipur. I want to put one question to you before I go. The day after tomorrow I shall come here in the morning for the answer. The question is, "What is this thing called tasawwuf? What is its reality?"

Immediately while shaking hands with him I replied: "All it is, is to correct one's niyat [intention]. Nothing else. Its beginning is إنما الأعمال بالنيات: "Verily all actions are judged by the intentions" and its end is

أ

ن تعبد الله كأنك تراه: "That you worship Allah as if you see Him."

Hearing this answer of mine, he fell silent and replied: "While travelling from Delhi I have been thinking that if you say this, then I will raise this objection. And if you say that, I will raise that objection. But this answer which you have given, I have not even anticipated."

I said: "Go now. Your tanga is waiting. And furthermore my time is also being spoiled. You may continue to try to think of some objections to find fault with it. I am afraid that during the day I will not find time to discuss anything at length. Perhaps I will be able to spare a few minutes, but if you wish for a longer discussion, then it may be possible after Maghrib."

The very next day at Maghrib he was back saying: "It was difficult for me to stay over in Raipur last night, because I had to attend a certain function and tonight it has become necessary for me to spend the night here with you. For this reason I have come away one day earlier."

He said further: "Do you know that I never had any faith in you nor any love?"

I retorted: "The feeling was mutual."

Then he said: "But I must admit that the reply you gave me yesterday made a tremendous impression upon me. I have been thinking about it since yesterday and have not been able to come forth with one critical objection against it. I answered: Inshallah Maulana, you will never be able to find any fault with it... إنما الأعمال بالنيات

This is the first stepping stone of tasawwuf and the last step is

أ

ن تعبد الله كأنك تراه: "That you worship Allah as if you see Him." This is what is called "Nisbat" (contact). This is also called "Yad dasht" (remembrance) or "Hudoori" (presence).

I said: "Maulana Saheb, all the exercises are merely to attain this state. The zikr aloud is for it. All the Mujahada and Muraqaba are for it. And whomsoever Allah has granted this wealth out of His Infinite Generosity, in any way, he will not require anything else.

The Sahaba رضي الله عنهم acquired this high state of spiritual blessings through only one look of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم and thereafter they did not require anything else. Thereafter the elders and saintly forebearers of this Ummat had prescribed various forms of treatment for the many sicknesses of the heart just like doctors prescribe treatment and medication for physical diseases. The doctors of the soul have out of their experiences in every age prescribed various treatments for various spiritual illnesses according to the needs of the time. These prescriptions are derived from the experiences of the earlier elders of the Ummat. Some people derive benefit from them immediately and are healed while others take longer to effect a cure for their ills.

Thereafter I related many incidents, one of which I had heard from my late father many times and which I had related to the students of hadeeth as well as the attendants of my majlis. (Inshallah we will present the story in the next post - Scribe).

Aap Beeti, Page 58