As soon as a person turns towards Allah taala and commits himself/herself to His wishes, Allah taala takes his/her hand and steers him/ her through the thick and thin of their lives. It is that Divine Pull which saves the person from all the evil attractions of the world.
The creator of the gravitational pull knows very well when His servants and lovers are in need of His help. And does not leave him/her alone. The feelings are overwhelming yet discrete.
تم سا کوئی ہمدم کوئی دم ساز نہیں ہے
باتیں تو ہیں ہر دم مگر آواز نہیں ہے
ہم تم ہی بس آگاہ ہیں اس ربط خفی سے
معلوم کسی اور کو یہ راز نہیں ہے
My Shaikh Hazrat Maulana Hakim Muhammad Akhtar Sb RA used to stress that a person, trying to practice deen, faces opposition from three quarters; his own self (nafs), Satan, and the society. Together, they employ every possible means to drag a person off-track.
The pull force of this private connection with Allah swt is so strong that it gives the person strength to turn down the demands of Satan, our own nafs, and all evils of the society together. It is a connection similar to the one mentioned about AshaabKahf وربطنا على قلوبهم.
He is very near and ready to pull. Let’s grab the chance!
Allah Taala has bestowed His blessings and gifts to each one of us. These worldly gifts are, no doubt, a source of temporary pleasure and joy. But we can turn this into real happiness and success only if He is with us and only if He is on our side. This companionship with Allah Taala is something which we can find in the gatherings of His pious people, the people who have already become His companion.
ہرکہ خواہد ہمنشینی با خدا او نشیند با حضور اولیاء If you want to become God’s companion then stay in the company of pious people
مولانا رومی رح
Quran has also explained this companionship and how to attain it in the following verse
(اِنَّ اللّٰہَ مَعَ الَّذِیۡنَ اتَّقَوۡا وَّالَّذِیۡنَ ہُمۡ مُّحۡسِنُوۡنَ ) Surely, Allah is with those who fear Him and those who are good in their deeds
[Surah An-Nahl 128]
The God-fearing people are the pious people who do not displease their Lord in the fear of loosing their real Love.
In order to attain this companionship, a person should regularly visit pious people and take their suggestions on how to get cured of a particular spiritual condition and start performing following tasks:
First, start making duas. A lot of duas! 10 mins, 15 mins, 20 mins, 30 mins, whatever one can afford everyday. Don’t shy discussing anything with Allah taala and then request His guidance and intervention. My shaikh Hazrat Hakim Akhtar sb RA used to say that worldly affluent people become frustrated when a needy comes to them repeatedly, but Allah Taala is so loving and caring that He becomes displeased when a person does not supplicate Him. ادْعُوْنِیْۤ اَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ
Second, make strongest intention and promise with Allah taala that I will avoid sins, come-what-may! This will help us in offering prayers even at our workplaces, observing hijab, return of inheritance to sisters and other siblings, wearing a beard, abstaining evil glances, avoiding back-biting, throwing away illicit relationships, offering obligatory hajj, avoiding drugs and alcohol, etc. The strongest intention is what results in Divine intervention.( وَیَہۡدِیۡۤ اِلَیۡہِ مَنۡ یُّنِیۡبُ )
Third, despite all efforts, in case of indulgence in a sin (due to human weakness), upon realization, start repenting and start doing Istaghfaar without wasting a moment. اِنَّ اللہَ یُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِیۡنَ. After repentance the person will not only be forgiven, rather Allah swt will start loving him/her. And his misdeeds will be washed away as a hadith of Rasoolullah ﷺ is reported that التَّائِبُ مِنْ الذَّنْبِ كَمَنْ لَا ذَنْبَ لَهُ which means that a persons who repents is just like the one who has not committed the sin.
Fourth, start doing zikr, remembering Allah swt every day, which includes zikr, duas for every occasion, Quran recitation,
Inshallah, the person following above will start feeling Allah taala’s companionship and soon will start a new life where it will become difficult for him/her to displease Him.
People often praise you when they are inspired by any of your great qualities or due to some eye-catching belongings in your possession. Sometimes this praise is a token of appreciation, while on other occasions a person praises for flattery in order to gain worldly benefits or to avoid an unjust person’s mistreatment.
“You are so generous!”, “You are very kind hearted!”, ” You are a genius”, “You are a practicing Muslim”, “You’re pious”, “You are very intelligent”. These are some of the praising quotes that many of us hear from our colleagues, peers, disciples, subordinates, servants, friends, etc.
The desire to hear such praise from people around us is itself a spiritual disease which one should always avoid. This inner feeling that people should praise me ruins the soul. As a result, the person starts doing good or bad deeds for fame. The element of sincerity in the relationship with Allah swt weakens. On the contrary, when people bad mouth about them or even when they just doesn’t praise a praise-thirsty person, he becomes depressed and his heart starts sinking.
So what should be our response when people praise us.
My Shaikh Hazrat Maulana Hakim Muhammad Akhtar sb RA used to say that whenever people say kind words about you, always thank Allah taala that He has made our evil deeds hidden from the eyes of the people and revealed our good deeds to them, which are themselves gifted by The Almighty.
He used to say that on such occasions, unless the praise is for flattery or other ill-purpose, do not try to silence them. Just talk to yourself that this is a blessing from Allah taala that He has hidden my vices from my brother’s eyes. This increases the faith and love of Allah taala.
O Allah! Make me one who is patient and grateful; and make me small in my own eyes but great in the eyes of others
مجمع الزوائد
It is important to elaborate that supplicating to make myself small in my own eyes is obvious but supplicating to be great in other’s eyes is not a wanting of fame. Rather, it is a request to have a good repute so that it becomes easier to present deen to the masses.
He would also say about رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ that the hasanah of this world includes, but not limited to, good repute among the people.
He used to say that there are four categories of praises: Creator praises Himself, Creator praises His creature, Creature praise their Creator, Creature praise other creatures. All of these types of praise actually praise the Creator because any praise of the creatures is actually the praise of the Creator.
May Allah swt give us His love that everything we see and everything we hear increases our faith in Him.
Footsteps of Pious Souls 