The Chishti Nizami Habibi Soofie

Sufi Order

Pietermaritzburg

Kwa Zulu Natal

South Africa

Formula for Success

Allah Y says in the Holy Qur'aan in the 7^th Sura, al-A’raaf [The Heights] in verse 157:

We should attempt to synchronize our external portrayal of Islam with our interior fervor. When we speak of Islam and being lovers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e we should focus on the lives of Hazrath Abu Bakr t, Hazrath Umar t, Hazrath Uthman t and Hazrath Ali t. They were a combination of these two states. For the political success of Islam their character was such that just by listening to the name of , or by seeing the glory and stature of Hazrath Umar t, the Caesar of Rome, the Leader of Persia and all hostile leaders of the world shook in fear and awe. They feared to confront him. This was one state that existed in the personality of Hazrath Umar t. On the other hand, at night Hazrath Umar t, the Leader of the Faithful (amir ul- mumineen), the Caliph of the era used to patrol the streets and alleys of Madinah, the Illuminated, to assess the situation in his jurisdiction to make sure that no one is sleeping hungry or is in need in the Islamic state. Hazrath Umar t could never sleep peacefully if he did not ensure the residents of his jurisdiction slept peacefully. This was the prophetic character reflecting from him, which had become part and parcel of the sahabas character; this was the Siddiqui, Faruqi, Uthmani and Alawi reflection of the character of the Holy Prophet e that the world observed. If Hazrath Umar t found a household in poverty, need or hunger he would personally carry provisions on his back to that household. One evening he found that household from which the sound of crying children emanated. He heard the children ask their mother, ‘Mum, the night is passing and you have been cooking and stirring the pot from a long time, is the food not yet prepared? We are hungry.’ At that stage the mother cries and tells her sons, ‘My sons there is nothing in the pot except water, for there is nothing to eat. I pretended to cook to appease you, praying that you will fall of to sleep. So it’s best you sleep hungry and we will attempt to get food tomorrow.’  She then exclaimed ‘O Umar t what kind of Caliph are you. In your jurisdiction, in many households people are sleeping hungry.’ On hearing this Hazrath Umar t, in a disturbed state, goes to his home and gathers provisions, including basic foodstuff and puts them into two large sacks. Hazrath Umar t then instructs his servant to carry the two sacks and place it on his back. The servant tells Hazrath Umar t that he will carry the sacks to where Hazrath Umar t wants it delivered. Hazrath Umar t refuses saying that he should carry out the order and place the sacks on the Caliphs back. Hazrath Umar t then said, ‘Whilst I carry the sacks, whip me till I reach my destination.’ Again the servant was astounded at the order. Hazrath Umar t sternly ordered him to do as ordered. The servant reluctantly whips Hazrath Umar t and leads him to the intended household. Hazrath Umar t explains to his servant that he would rather be whipped in this world for his neglect than be whipped on the Day of Reckoning. Hazrath Umar t veiled his face on reaching the house and knocked on the door. The lady of the house enquired as to who was at the door. Hazrath Umar t answered that he was unknown to her but he had brought some provisions for her household. He asked the lady to start cooking and he helped to bake the bread. With his own blessed hands he fed the hungry children until he saw their depressed faces smile, and their faces turn radiant. The lady witnessing this act of benevolence insisted that the stranger reveal his identity. Hazrath Umar t said that he did not want to be known. She exclaimed, ‘Allah Y should have made you the Caliph instead of Hazrath Umar t for he is unaware of the state of his jurisdiction.’ Hazrath Umar t still concealing his identity said, O Noble Lady! If you are so pleased with my actions, then forgive Hazrath Umar t for my sake.’ She said, ‘For your sake I forgive Hazrath Umar t but please reveal your identity.’ When he exposed his face the lady fell on her knees out of shame realizing that, the stranger was none other than Hazrath Umar t.’ She fell at his feet asking for forgiveness. Hazrath Umar t replied that she was perfectly justified in her complaint, since none should sleep hungry in his jurisdiction, since he had stated that even if a calf on the remote outskirts of his jurisdiction should die, then he would be answerable to Allah Y.’ This is one aspect of the Prophetic personality as reflected in the Faruqi Character and similarly mirrored by the rightly guided caliphs. Those should sit on the seats of authority that have this compassion and caring ingrained in their personality. This selfless service is what was taught by the Holy Prophet Muhammad e. We should set fire to burn our ego that taints our character and then set fire to the environment to burn and weed out the corrupt leadership of the world and within ‘so called’ Islamic states.  Let us now discuss the other aspect.

Hazrath Umar t carries provisions on his back and sees to the welfare of the people in his Caliphate. On one hand this compassion and caring, the character inherited from the Holy Prophet e was one aspect that the sahaba had colored their life with. On the other hand, on another night Hazrath Umar t was patrolling the streets at night in the city of Madinah listening for a cry of grief. He heard an old lady lamenting in a home and on listening carefully to assess whether it was a cry of hunger, out of sickness, grief or complaint about the Caliphate but when he listened carefully he heard that she was crying out of separation from the Holy Prophet e due to his veiling himself from this temporal world. She was reciting verses of lament, which reflected her intense love for the Holy Prophet e. She was reciting in Arabic some verses which roughly translated said, ‘My Beloved, death is a surety everyone has to leave this world. You have migrated to the realm of Divine Beauty and left us alone. If only someone could bring me the glad tidings that I would be joined with you after my death, then I can patiently wait till I die’. This was the essence of those verses. When Hazrath Umar t heard these verses then the other aspect and rang (color) of his personality came to the fore: One aspect of his personality was the yearning of revolution (joshe inqilaab) whilst the other was the burning love for the Holy Prophet Muhammad e. He had a yearning to establish Islamic dominance, eradicating oppression and enforcing justice as prescribed by Allah Y and the Holy Prophet e. If the rightly guided caliphs are viewed from this aspect then they are seen as steady mountains cemented in Islamic Revolution. If one views the burning love for the Holy Prophet Muhammad e in their hearts, then they are seen like a child who cries on being separated from its mother. When Hazrath Umar t heard the cries of separation expressed in poetry by this old woman, his juristic personality should have made him leave seeing that this was a need even the Caliph could not fulfill. On the contrary Hazrath Umar t was so moved by these verses that it surfaced the state of yearning for the Holy Prophet Muhammad e that was ingrained in his personality. He lost all senses of it being night, and the woman being a ghair mehram or one that shariah does not allow a man to be alone with. The burning love of the Holy Prophet e in his bosom made him knock on the woman’s door. The woman enquired as to who it was and he replied that it was Umar t. The lady asked as to what he wanted and Hazrath Umar t requested permission to enter. She allowed him in and he sat near her saying, ‘Sister, repeat those poetic verses that you were reciting Does shariah or intellect allow one to go to a strange women’s house, even if one is the Caliph of the time? Also, does shariah or intellect allow one to sit and ask her to recite poetry? Friends this color is not attained by making the shariah a cult, but it is attained from leaping into the fire of intense love (ishq).

The lady read the verses again and I sense Hazrath Umar t was in a state of wajd for when she reached the point when she said, ‘If only someone could bring me the glad tidings that I would be joined with you after my death, then I can patiently wait till I die’ then Hazrath Umar t jumped up and interjected saying, ‘Add to the verse that Umar also may be joined to the Holy Prophet Muhammad e after death’. Gauge what a state of love and yearning Hazrath Umar t was in. In another narration it is stated that this very Hazrath Umar t, for whom the Caesar of Rome, the Leader of Persia and all hostile leaders of the world shook in fear and awe, returned home after this incident and remained in bed as a patient of love for days, due to the intense fire of yearning fueled in his heart. This is the ailment of love for the Holy Prophet e.

This message is contained in the verse of the Holy Qur’aan that I recited.[ the 7^th Sura, al-A’raaf [The Heights] in verse 157]. O Community of the Holy Prophet e, people of Imaan, if you desire success, victory, world dominance, to reach your goal, be released from oppression and injustice, and to take your rightful place in society by fighting and defeating the unholy grip on the ummah, then reestablish your link with the Holy Prophet e. Establish not an enforced legal link but a link of extreme love and respect (ishq-o-adab).

Four conditions have been prescribed by Allah Y for the success of this ummah. This is the manifesto of the Holy Qur'aan, the formula for success. Only those will succeed who simultaneously fulfill these four conditions. Those that believe (a’manu) in the Holy Prophet Muhammad e: A belief based on love, for this portion of the Holy Qur'aan is being addressed to people of iman. So what kind of belief should believers hold? That level is being demanded here, that was said by the Holy Prophet e:

This is the first condition, the second being wa azzaruhu i.e. an infinite respect and reverence for the Holy Prophet e (hud se bar kar adab-o-tazeem) and thirdly wattabahu to i.e. follow and imitate the Holy Prophet Muhammad e i.e. to practice his teachings, to actualize the teachings of the Holy Qur'aan and through action become reflectors of the personality of the Holy Prophet e.  Imbue ourselves with the personality of the Holy Prophet e. The fourth condition being nusrat e deen e Mustafa or to make the way of life (deen) of the Holy Prophet e  the dominant way of life, that ushers in truth,  thereby canceling all false and oppressive lifestyles, by sacrificing everything i.e. possessions, intellectual stumbling blocks and life to assist (nusrat) the deen.

If we don’t fulfill these four conditions simultaneously the Holy Qur'aan has stated nothing can be attained. To recap:

1.      The first being Extreme Love of the Holy Prophet e  or muhabbat-e-Rasul,

2.      The second being Extreme Respect and Reverence of the Holy Prophet e  or adab aur tazeem-e-Rasul, a love knowing no bounds (behad). Parents, elders, Religious Scholars (Ulama), Spiritual Guides (Mashaikh),  are loved and respected within bounds (had), but the adab of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e  is beyond bounds. The word azaru is to respect and revere extremely.

3.      Thirdly, Obeying and lovingly imitating the Holy Prophet e  ita’at aur itteba-e-Rasul , and

4.      Fourthly, Assisting the deen of f the Holy Prophet e or nusrat-e-deen-e-Rasul.

Keeping the pleasure of Allah Y and His Beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad e in mind and not caring who in creation amongst the predatory, capitalist elite or scholars aligned to them frown I have to state very frankly, that historical circumstances and tactical manipulation by the materialists have divided the deen of Unity (Tauhid) into pieces. Those that are aligned and maintain correct aqaa’id and a proper relationship (ta’alluq) with the Holy Prophet e have also been divided by self-centered personalities, that want to claim leadership yet they profess to believe that our leader, the Holy Prophet Muhammad e is a living prophet. Indeed he is a functioning and living Prophet! Each group is now propagating Islam through publications, lectures, tours etc. bit none are achieving the goal. The condition of the ummah is not changing, darkness is not being dispelled and light is not being received. What is the reason for this apathetic state? Ponder! The Holy Qur'aan has promised:

These four conditions have to be fulfilled simultaneously. Those who fulfill two and neglect the other two will fail. If an examination has to be written and passing requires passing four papers then only those who pass all four will be issued with a degree of success. The degree of, which is the degree of honour, status, victory and of attaining the divinely prescribed goal is dependant on passing the four pre-conditions. We see two groups in our society. One group has taken the first two conditions and neglected the other two whilst the second have taken the last two and neglected the first two. I am not naming the groups, but you can figure them out. One group has taken the first and second being Extreme Love of the Holy Prophet e or muhabbat-e-Rasul and Extreme Respect and Reverence of the Holy Prophet e   adab aur tazeem-e-Rasul.  They have not rejected the other two, obeying and lovingly imitating the Holy Prophet e or ita’at aur itteba-e-Rasul, and assisting the deen of the Holy Prophet e or nusrat-e-deen-e-Rasul but the majority have neglected it. Who are these people? It is us. Only wanting to hear about love but partially neglecting the Sunnah. We have not neglected the sunnah and jihad but we have laidback in practicing it as we have practiced acts of love.

The other group has stated there is no need to express love through words or a deed, for this is like, Allah Y forbid, Romeo and Juliet. They claim that their external concept of obedience and imitation of the Holy Prophet e is their love and following and also that their concept of tabligh, and going out in groups is the assistance of the deen. Take this message to their centers. When we talk of and express love for the Holy Prophet e, speak of his facial beauty, blessed eyes, fragrant hair and expound his transcendental status they get agitated and condemn it as innovation (bid’at) and polytheism (shirk). They tell their followers that we are intoxicating our followers with the opiate of love. This is written in their books and said in their discussions. They have failed the papers of muhabbat-e-Rasul and adab aur tazeem-e-Rasul.  Most have not expressed their rejection of this but their state reflects their neglect. Some have gone to the extreme of blasphemy and have totally rejected the significance of muhabbat-e-Rasul and adab aur tazeem-e-Rasul. It is one thing to neglect a belief in action but to believe in it for it shows a weakened Imaan. On the other hand if one rejects the relevance of this belief totally, then one throws oneself out of the fold of Imaan. The refusal to write two papers in a four paper examination is enough reason to be thrown out of an examination room even if the other two papers are passed with distinction. The Extreme Love of the Holy Prophet e or muhabbat-e-Rasul and Extreme Respect and Reverence of the Holy Prophet e   adab aur tazeem-e-Rasul is the root of the tree of Imaan. The cutting of the root kills the branches, leaves and fruit. Religious actions (A’mal) is the branch of the tree, following and imitation (itteba) are the leaves that make the tree of Imaan beneficial in giving shade, so that people may come close to this tree and be comforted. The loss of the root kills the entire tree. When our Ulama translate 93^rd Sura, ad-Dhuhaa [The Glorious Morning Light]: Verse 7:

Most translators have erroneously translated the word ‘daul’ in such a way that it affects the prestige and personality of the matchless and sinless prophet. The word wandering does not befit his dignity. They wrongly translate this verse as:

They show from their translations, reaction to translations of love and their arrogance which has reached epidemic proportions, the fact that the root of their Imaan has died. Hypocrisy like an infection has eaten the root of their Imaan. They have fallen into the trap of destruction and misbelief. They can carry their wrongly translated Holy Qur’aan a million times on their heads and cry out that they are assisting the deen and giving Qur’aanic lessons but they are lost. If they have doubted the status of the Master of The Holy Qur'aan (sahib-e-Qur’aan) via whose blessed heart we received the Holy Qur'aan then what remains except delusion. They say we should not call the Holy Prophet e beloved. If he is not the beloved then there is no love in the universe. All love, including creation is due to him. The universe is enlightened by the rays of Allah Y’s love for him. The deen is his love, Imaan is his love. Protect your Imaan by establishing an unswerving bond with the Holy Prophet Muhammad e. When we speak frankly then both parties get offended.

Group acceptance is not what we should aim for. If both groups reject us for speaking the truth then so be it. We only desire that the Holy Prophet Muhammad e, the chosen one counts us as one of his lowly servants or a dog in his alley.

As Maulana Jami t said:

Obtain the pleasure of Allah Y and the Holy Prophet e, his companions, family and true heirs, the Aulia Allah. Protect your Imaan by establishing an unswerving bond with the Holy Prophet Muhammad e. If you are successful in fulfilling these four Qur’aanic injunctions then success will kiss your feet. The Sahaaba reflected all these in their personalities.  

You have heard of the sahaba obeying and lovingly imitating the Holy Prophet e or ita’at aur itteba-e-Rasul, sacrifices of life and property and the detailed following of his orders and example. Now listen to their annihilation in love and ecstasy. Hazrath Bilaal t reflected annihilation in the love of the Holy Prophet e in his behaviour. The Holy Prophet e had veiled himself from this temporal world. Hazrath Bilaal t decided that he could no longer live in the City of Madinah without physically seeing the Holy Prophet e daily so he left Madinah and took up residence in Damascus , in Syria . It was the Caliphate of Hazrath Abu Bakr Siddique t and Hazrath Bilaal t whilst sleeping in his residence in Damascus is blessed with a dream of the Holy Prophet e. The Holy Prophet e says to him, ‘O My Bilaal, don’t you desire coming to Madinah and visiting my grave.’ In a state of ecstasy, Hazrath Bilaal t immediately left for Madinah, the Illuminated. Listen to the state of annihilation in love of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e.  On entry in Madinah, although Hazrath Bilaal t is looking at the Holy Grave of the Holy Prophet e his ecstatic state makes him run around The Mosque of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e stopping anyone he sees asking if they had seen his beloved Holy Prophet e. This is a state of intense longing and sacrifice of intellect on the altar of love. He the runs to the Holy Grave of the Holy Prophet e and embraces it. He rubs his face and chest on Holy Grave of the Holy Prophet e and intense longing and love is reflected in his behaviour. Hazrath Abu Bakr Siddique t, Hazrath Umar t, Hazrath Uthman t, Hazrath Ali t, and the other citizens of Madinah gathered to witness this scene on hearing Hazrath Bilaal t’s cries and outbursts of love. He had returned to Madinah after an absence of 6 to 7 months. Hazrath Bilaal t was comforted by the companions and Hazrath Umar t, requested, after a while, ‘my dear Bilaal t, please afford us the opportunity of listening to that Call to Prayer (azaan) that we used to listen to during the physical presence of the Holy Prophet e’. Hazrath Bilaal t refused to give the azaan saying, ‘My brother Umar, Bilaal only could give that call to prayer when he could behold the blessed face of the Holy Prophet e in front of his eyes’. The sahaba decided to solicit, the young Hazrath Imam Hassan t and Hazrath Imam Hussain t, who were reared in the lap of the Holy Prophet e to request Hazrath Bilaal t to call the azaan. They asked politely, Uncle Bilaal, for our sakes call that azaan that you called for our grandfather’. Unable to refuse these two princes, Hazrath Bilaal t began the Call’. On hearing the azaan, cries and laments could be heard in the Masjid, and from every quarter of Madinah, the Radiant. When Hazrath Bilaal t reached the blessed declaration ‘I bear witness that Muhammad, is the Messenger of Allah e’, (ashadu anna Muhammad-ar-Rasulullah e) the cries of the people of Madinah, ignited by the fire of separation and the memories that Hazrath Bilaal t’s azaan ushered in reached its peak. Hazrath Bilaal t fell down unconscious. Every companion, male and female; young and old, were so moved that it sounded as if it was The Day of Judgment (qiyaamah). This was the colour of love of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e that was evident in the companions (sahaba) and family of the Holy Prophet e (ahle bait). Is this attained through only a dry ritualistic obedience of the Holy Prophet e, which some poor souls term as obeying the Holy Prophet e or ita’at -e-Rasul?  This is only attained by plunging oneself into the fire of love.       

After the Holy Prophet Muhammad e was ushered into the Realm of Divine Beauty and the sahaba, who were longing to see the Holy Prophet e went to the house of the Mother of the Believers, Hazrath Maimuna y, who possessed a mirror once utilized by the Holy Prophet e. She kept that blessed mirror wrapped in a cloth for it had refused to release the image of the Holy Prophet e. The sahaba used to look at this mirror and see the Holy Prophet e. If the mirror could not let go of the image, how could the sahaba ever let go of the memory of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e. Ala Hazrath, Imaam Ahmad Raza t, says:

O Allah Y! Let every young Muslim make his heart like the mirror of Hazrath Maimuna y, so that when he lowers neck and looks at his heart, he sees the Holy Prophet Muhammad e mirrored therein.

If we could combine this love with obeying and lovingly imitating the Holy Prophet e or ita’at aur itteba-e-Rasul then none will dare speak insolently against the Holy Prophet Muhammad e. Imitation of the Holy Prophet e is only that ita’at aur itteba that stems from love, is a result of love not that obedience or ita’at  that is a dry ritual with the performer desirous of reward.

Belief, love and imitation has to be combined with assisting the deen or nasaruhu then only will we be successful. This divinely prescribed way of life as personified by the Holy Prophet e is being eroded from within by hypocrites and attacked from the outside by the predatory capitalist elite. We need to make an almighty struggle to retain our Imaan and secure the future for our youth. Listen to this fervour in the heart of a young sahaba. He had just married and it was his first night with his bride. They are young, it is their first night together and no intimacy had taken place, when suddenly they heard the call of jihad from the Holy Prophet e. The Holy Prophet e asked all the menfolk to gather their arms and to assemble in the open grounds. The young man on hearing this call, gets out of bed, dresses, takes his sword and gets ready to go. His young bride runs behind him pleading, ‘O The crown of my head! Don’t leave now. Spend this night with me for the army will only depart at daybreak’. He replied, ‘Don’t you know that the crown of my head, has called me to participate in Jihad. If I don’t live till the morning, how can I die knowing that I had not responded to the call of the greatest love of all in creation, the Holy Prophet Muhammad e? If I survive I will return, but if I am martyred and Allah Y so wills we will be together in the hereafter’. He then left and joined the army. O Young men!  We have a system of Dajjal out there, which sees with one eye of materialism and a system of hypocritical Muslims working with this system; arm yourselves with these four prescribed orders of the Holy Qur'aan and become a soldier of Islam. Act upon the sunnah of Imam Hussain t, make a stand for justice. Don’t become a slave to wealth, and pressure from the elite. Become true slaves of the Holy Prophet e.       

Irshad Soofi Siddiqui

19 August 2005

13 Rajab 1426