1) Love of Allah ? brings spring in the life of a Mu'min.2) Al-Ibadah: Its significance

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1) Love of Allah ?     brings spring in the life of a Mu'min

When the land is not looked after properly, weeds and thorns grow in it. When the plants and trees are not watered, they loose their greenery and they look faded. Similarly when there is no rain of muhabbat (love) and shiddat (passion) of Allah ?     on our hearts, then the greenery of the eeman of the believer is lost and his life fades away.  The spring comes in the life of a believer when there is the shower of muhabbat of Allah ?     on his heart. Just like when the water showers on the plants, they turn green, with flowers blossoming with fragrance emanating from them, the fragrance of muhabbat of Allah ?     and his life with eeman is sensed by others.  When the ears cannot hear, we say it has become deficient and when tongue does not do its job of speaking, we say it has become deficient. The job of this heart is to love Allah ?     and when it doesn’t do its job, it gets ruined. When the house is not aabaad (populated) and when there is no light in the house, we get scared that there might be devils or saaya (adumbral). When this heart inside us is not aabaad with Allah ?     and there is no light of His ?     muhabbat, then this heart becomes barren. This heart becomes the camp of fear, we get the thorns of distress and the inner worries that tease the man and he has the ruined heart. When the land is left uncultivated, the thorns grow up by themselves without any hard work, the weeds grow up and the rubbish gets gathered. When no attention is paid to the heart and when no hard work is done on the heart to grow the muhabbat of Allah ?    , then it gets ruined by itself. There is no need of any hard work to grow the thorns of hatred. When this heart is formed, then the Insaan is formed. When this gets ruined, the life of insaan gets ruined. The job of this heart is to love Allah ?     and the believer used to love Allah ?    . The life of a believer just cannot be beautified with the muhabbat of Allah ?     but it should be accompanied with the shiddat (passion).

A young man said that his sister fell in haram muhabbat with a Hindu boy and she turned into a hindu. When there is shiddat in the haram muhabbat that can make people leave everything, then how cannot the shiddat in muhabbat of Allah ?     will not make one sacrifice everything for sake of Allah ?    ? Today when there is shiddat in haram muhabbat, then the parents become insignificant in the eyes, the family becomes insignificant and the bond of relation breaks. Barriers like mountains move away because there is shiddat in the muhabbat. Impossible and unbelievable outcome come in front of us because the muhabbat has such strength. The man is weak but the muhabbat makes him very strong and creates strong courage in him. He gets himself to face the mountain like barriers. Aforetime, believers used to have muhabbat of Allah ?     and there used to be shiddat in their muhabbat of Allah ?     and so unbelievable determination could be seen in the life of Sahabahs ?. Today we see the haram muhabbat and so we see the unbelievable outcome. The son of a muslim father is becoming a ghair muslim, the daughter of a muslim father is becoming a ghair muslim. He is leaving his family, relatives, his brothers and his sisters, his culture and religion as there is shiddat in the muhabbat. This muhabbat used to be for Allah ?     and there was shiddat in the muhabbat and every barrier used to move away from the way of the believer.

What we lack today?

Today one says it is difficult to carry out the command and the deficiency lies in the muhabbat. If there is shiddat in the muhabbat, even in these times of fitna, he would be the man of Allah ?  . He finds difficult to act on the command of Allah ? because there is deficiency of shiddat in muhabbat of Allah ?. When shiddat comes, even the mountain will turn into dust. Allah ? gave the Sahabahs ? His muhabbat and also the shiddat in the muhabbat and how was the unbelievable outcome. They are leaving their houses for the sake of Allah ?. They are sacrificing their lands for Allah ?. They left all their big businesses for the sake of Allah. They left their country for the sake of Allah ?. They left all their brotherhood for the sake of Allah ?. They tolerated their lonely life and yes they bore it for sake of Allah ?. A woman brings the infant and presents him before Huzur Prophet ? and says, “Take him with you for he can act as a shield against the arrows for you.” How was this unbelievable outcome? Because there was shiddat in the muhabbat. Today there is no shiddat in the muhabbat of Allah ?.

Today he asks, “What is the wisdom in this command, the reason and the benefit?” These questions arise because there is no shiddat in the muhabbat of Allah ?. When the muhabbat of Allah ? entered the hearts of the beloved one with the shiddat, when command came to strike off the neck of the son with the sword, he didn’t ask the reason but obeyed the command. Is it easy to strike the neck of the son with the sword? It is easy to strike one’s own neck than striking the neck of the innocent son. But there was shiddat in the muhabbat and so he was prepared. When the child was just able to walk and there was muhabbat for the wife and also for the son, Allah ? commanded him to leave them in such a barren place where there is no sign of living, there is no human residence, no source of water, no market, no source of living and there Allah ? commanded him, “Go, leave your wife and the child in that place.” How came the unbelievable outcome? There was shiddat in the muhabbat. He sacrificed everything for the sake of Allah ?. The wife asked him, “Why are you leaving us here?” The command was to remain silent and so he was silent. She asked again and he was silent. She asked again and he was silent. Then she asked, “Did Allah ? command you?” Ibrahim ? nodded his head affirming that. The wife too was strange, she said that if you are leaving us by the command of Allah ?, then He ? won’t deprive us. Definitely when there is shiddat in the muhabbat and we sacrifice for sake of Allah ?, then see how Allah ? replaces with something better. But show something sacrificed to Allah ? and leave something for sake of Allah ? and then see. For surely Allah ? is ash-shakur.

Barriers like mountain will move away with passion in love of Allah ?

When there is shiddat in the muhabbat of Allah, every barrier will be moved away and every difficulty concerning the deen will become easy. Even in times of fitna, being a man of Allah ? will be easy. Yes even in times of fitna. Is anyone driving us out of our homes because we practice deen? Is anyone making us to lie on the burning bed? Are we cut into halves with a sword because we practice deen? No, none is doing that. Is anyone ripping off of our skin making us standing alive? Does anyone throw us in the boiling oil? No, none is doing that. All these things were happening during those times but there was shiddat in the muhabbat of Allah ? and so they lead their life. They know that living the life of Allah ?  is leading the life of a death warrant and the life of fire. There is possibility of losing all the friendship, losing the trade, destruction of economy, there is the possibility of the boycott by the whole family. All these things were present right before their eyes but they had the shiddat in their muhabbat and so they advanced their steps. They embraced all these trials. Today we have deficiency of this shiddat in the muhabbat. That is why a muslim does something and leaves something as he wish. He appears as a ghair muslim in some cases. He moves with one appearance here and with a different appearance in markets. When someone dies, there is a different scene and when there is a wedding, there is some other scene. Why doesn’t he become a man of Allah ? in every place because there is deficiency in the muhabbat of Allah ?.

Signs of shiddat in the life of a Mu'min

When there is shiddat in the muhabbat of Allah ?, there are some things that appear in the life of a mu’min. First, we will see times of solitude in his life which will be purely for Allah ? because if one has muhabbat and shiddat for something, the man allots the time of solitude for that thing. When a muslim has muhabbat and shiddat for Allah ?, then there will be definitely times of solitude where only he and his Maula is present. That is why the one who has the muhabbat and shiddat of Allah ? will have the Taufeeq of praying Tahajjud. If he didn’t get the time for Tahajjud due to some reasons, he takes care to have that time of solitude in some other time of that day or night where only he and his Maula is present. So this is one thing seen when there is shiddat in muhabbat. Second thing is when there is muhabbat for Allah ? and that too to a very high level, then one gets the desire to meet Allah ? and predilection for the akhira, for there will be a meeting with Allah ?. The grief of death comes to an end. But today we see when one hears death, he becomes depressed. Our beloved Prophet ? said. “When one loves to meet Allah ?, then Allah ? too loves to meet him.” The one who doesn’t like to meet Allah ?, Allah ? too doesn’t like to meet him. Definitely there will be the time of solitude in his life where only he and his Allah ? are present and when there is shiddat in the muhabbat, he will get the desire for the akhirat. Then, when there is this shiddat in muhabbat, when one gets even little thing from his beloved, he thinks that is too much. But the condition is that he is truthful in his muhabbat. So when there is muhabbat of Allah ?, he will have gratitude in his life even if he has little. Also even if he has done so much for his beloved one, he won’t get content for he will be worried if his beloved will like it or not. He will always have this thought of fear and uneasiness troubling him. The Sahabahs ridhwaanallahu ajmaeen were truthful in their muhabbat and they even had shiddat in their muhabbat. They were hungry, no good clothes to wear, their wives had the scar of carrying pots of water, they had the scar in their hands running the mil but still their hearts and tongues were filled with the words of shukr. They were so truthful in their muhabbat that they spend their whole night in worship and when the time of Sehri comes, they used to seek forgiveness fearing that if Allah ? liked their gift of worship. So when there is muhabbat and shiddat of Allah ?, he has the time of solitude for Allah ?, he has the desire to meet Him ?, his heart is filled with gratitude and he has the fear troubling him if his life is moving as pleasing to Allah ?.

Today a person performing few times of prayer gets content with himself when he sees a person just offering Jumu'ah salah, a woman wearing the head cover sees the woman with no head cover and gets content and thinks oneself as buzurg while one who has true muhabbat and shiddat for Allah ?  will never be content with his/her ibadah. They keep advancing and they seek forgiveness even for their righteous deeds. Their bodies are separated from their beds in the night, sometimes standing, sometimes in Ruku and sometimes in sujjud. When they start seeing the day light, they start seeking forgiveness from Allah ?. When there is shiddat in the muhabbat of Allah ?, we get to love those who love Allah ?. When a muslim starts loving Allah ?, then it is impossible that muhabbat of Prophets ? is not seen in his heart or the muhabbat of Sahaabahs ? or the muhabbat of Tabi'een or the muhabbat of awliya or the ulema because the muhabbat and the shiddat of Allah ? will make him love all those who love Allah ?. When some one has muhabbat and shiddat for someone, his friend becomes his friend, his beloved one becomes his beloved and he severs the contact with the one who fell before the eyes of the beloved. This is shiddat in muhabbat. That is why Prophet ? used to make duaa, “Allahumma inni as’aluka hubbak wa hubba manyyu hibbuk.” Ya Allah! Grant me your muhabbat and muhabbat of those who love you. So when a person loves Allah ? with the shiddat, all these five things are seen in him. His muhabbat is for Allah ?, his friendship is for Allah ? and his contacts are for Allah ?. If he says he loves Allah ? with passion but he befriends his enemies, then he is just lying. This is like a man saying he loves his mother and he loves the person who talks bad about his mother. Will he be called someone grateful to a mother? Is it possible someone befriending the enemies of a father? It cannot happen. So his friendship is for Allah ?, his muhabbat is for Allah ? and his contacts is for Allah ?. When he is of Allah ?, he will be for Him ?. This will happen only when there is shiddat in the muhabbat. Then all these things will be seen in the life of a man.

 How do we get the shiddat?

Now how can we be fortunate enough to get this muhabbat? This muhabbat of Allah ? is very much necessary for the life and to get the spring in the Eemani life, to get the flowers blossom and to get the fragrance in the life. The muhabbat that too that of shiddat. Now how will it come, I will present few things and let Allah ? make us give importance to that. Then we will get shiddat in the muhabbat of Allah ?. The first thing is that muhabbat increases by talks. Let Allah ? forbid, when girls get the mobile in their hands and they lack the tarbiyat, and then just by talking, their life gets ruined. When the youths get the access to the internet and they do not have the tarbiyat, then their honor and youth gets ruined. Even the haram muhabbat increases by talks, the ways of worldly muhabbat (ishq e majazi) are opened, then the shiddat comes and everything goes destroyed. Talk is progressed by talk. So Allah’s ? muhabbat too will increase with the talks. When one recites the Quran and talks to Allah ?  in solitude, then we will get the shiddat in Allah’s ? muhabbat. Recitation of kalam of Allah and then talking to Him ? in solitude brings in the shiddat in Allah’s ?  muhabbat. In the beginning, we might not get the desire to recite the Quran but when a person constantly does this, believe it then he won’t get the desire to leave the recitation because definitely there will be a pleasure in talking to Allah ?.

When muhabbat has shiddat in it, then we cannot even calculate the time for it moves away fast. The whole night passes away talking to Allah ? that one’s legs get swell. The nights pass away in the muhabbat, hours goes away. Let Allah ? make us all fortunate to recite the Quran and talking to Him ? in solitude. Let not a single day pass us without reciting the Quran. When beloved sisters cannot recite the Quran, they can do Adhkaar in those days and do the tasbeehaat but do not omit it altogether. Whenever you recite the Quran or do the dhikr, then make this Nayyat (intention) that your love of Allah ? is improving and that I am talking to Allah ? and in fact Allah ? is replying to our talks. In hadeeth, we come to see, when the slave says, “Alhamdulillah Rabbil Alameen”, Allah ? replies, “Yes my slave praised me.” When the slave says, “Are Rahman nir Raheem”’ Allah ? replies again and so it goes. Until the slave pays attention to Allah ?, Allah ? too pays attention to him. When he moves away his attention, Allah ? too moves away His ? attention. So if you want shiddat in the muhabbat, then recite the Quran and do some Adhkaar in solitude. The other thing is Prophet ? said the most beloved in the sight of Allah ? is faraaiz and nothing is precious than faraaiz in the sight of Allah ?. But due to the abundance of Nawaafil, the slave attains the kurb (closeness) of Allah ?.  He gets so close that Allah ? becomes his eyes, his ears, his tongue and his hands, which means all these faculties, will be used as pleasing to Allah ?. Because of the abundance in nawaafil, shiddat in Allah’s ? love is attained.

If Allah blesses one with nawaafil of tahajjud, it is more blessed. If one is tired that he cannot wake up, then before praying Witr, let him pray few rakats of nawaafil with the niyyat of tahajjud and so let there be some nawaafil. Normally people enjoy their time in their own ways till last third of the night and then they sleep. They get sleep automatically for that is the special time that Allah ? blesses His beloved slaves and He ? wants to wake them up and so He ? makes the others sleep. If Allah ? makes us fortunate to attain those hours, then it is more blessed. If one cannot pray tahajjud, then in the day and the night, let people allocate some time for nawaafil like the Ishraq or Chast or Awwâbeen or nawaafil before and after farz salaah. Do give importance to such a number of nawaafil so one can do that throughout their life and one can do it constantly for there is more barkat in doing constantly and there is more barkat in istiqaamat (steadfast). This ibaadah of nawaafil is in salah and also in wealth that is sadaqah and khairat (alms), in maamlaat (affairs) and in dealing with society too, where we have the mustahabbaat (recommended) narrations. One, there is faraiz which should be fulfilled in maamlaat, muaasharat, ibadat and akhlaq. In spite of this, when one gives importance to the nawaafil and mustahabbaat, then one attains the love of Allah ? . Take an example of a officer and his duty is to work for 8 hours and he leaves the office after completing his hours and on the way he finds something liked by his employer and he does that for him even though it is not his office time and now when the employer comes to know this, won’t his status be raised in the eyes of his employer or not? How much he will like him for it is not his responsibility but still he did that. When a muslim gives importance to the nawaafil, then his appreciation and his value increases and his status is raised in the sight of Allah ?. So one gets the shiddat in Allah’s muhabbat when there is abundance in nawaafil.

The third tip to get the shiddat in Allah’s ? muhabbat is that we as muslims have the belief that every blessing is from Allah ? but we don’t contemplate that this ni’mat (blessing) is from Allah ?. When we start contemplating that this ni’mat is from Allah ? and that ni’mat is from Allah ? in the form of duaas as taught by our beloved Prophet ? for every usage of the ni’mat, like when one thanks Allah ?  when he wears dress, thanks Allah ?  when he eats food, thanks Allah ? when entering the house, when he drinks, he thanks Allah ?, when he comes out of the toilet, he thanks Allah ? and in thanking Allah ?  at every opportunity, we get the shiddat in Muhsin’s love. We do have the eemaan that ni’mats are from Allah ? but we don’t contemplate. When one thinks about the person’s help like in such and such time, he helped me like this, he did that in that particular situation, and in difficult times, he stood with me and so on, will he not get the love of that muhsin? So when we contemplate on every ni’mat of Allah ? in the form of duaas at every opportunity, we get the shiddat in Allah’s ? muhabbat.

A short summary

So five indications were pointed out that shows the shiddat in muhabbat of Allah ? which are:

1. There will be the time of solitude in his life.
2. He will have the desire for the akhirat.
3. His heart will be always filled with gratitude.
4. His heart will be troubled with fear and uneasiness all the time if his deeds are accepted by Allah ? or not.
5. He would love those who love Allah ? and beloved to Allah ?.

To get the love of Allah, three ways were discussed

1. Recitation of Quran and doing Adhkaar.
2. To give the importance to nawaafil in abundance.
3. To contemplate on the blessings of Allah, that is by saying duas for different situations.
4. There is also a fourth way and that is to prefer the environment where people have love in their hearts and where Allah’s ? tazkira (memoir) is done. And through this also comes the intensity(shiddat) in the muhabbat of Allah ? and progress in that.

So we get the love from those who love Allah ? but the condition is we should sit with them with the niyyat of gaining love of Allah ?  that I have come here to gain the love of Allah ?. In such a case, even when he doesn’t say anything, he will get the love of Allah ?. Even by just seeing them, we might get progress in love of Allah ? but the only condition is that the niyyat is correct. One niyyat is that his worldly needs get fulfilled and the other is his love for Allah ? gets increased. He has come so he gets shiddat in muhabbat. I am telling the truth that Allah ? will then make the person say such a thing that will be required by the on comer and it will be felt like that he has read my mind, he said just what I wished because Allah ? knows everything and so He ? brings those words from his mouth for which the on comer has the quest. Whatever is one in need, Allah ? brings it through his tongue because the quest of the on comer is sincere and so he gets that. Yes through this, one gets the shiddat in the muhabbat of Allah ?.

Barriers in the path of Allah’s love and its solution

If there is anything acting as a barrier in the path of Allah’s ? love, then that is the disobedience of Allah ?. Our lives are filled with sins. But there are three sins on which if we concentrate to remove, then inshaaAllah one will be saved from other sins. Pay more attention to this and give more importance to save from these three sins.

1. The sin of the heart.
2. The sin of the tongue.
3. The sin of the eyes.

Saving from the sin of the heart is saving from badgumani (suspiciousness, having bad opinion of someone). Badgumani has so widely spread by the shaitan that the slave started having bad opinion about Allah ?. The army of Shayateen has made one to suspect even the elite group of Sahabahs ? who are the base of the whole deen. His badgumani went so bad that he suspects even the aalame Rabbani and without the company of ulema, where is the deen? The wujood (existence) of deen is with the wujood of the ulema. Ulema are the inheritors of Prophets ? but from just hear say, the shaitan has made him to suspect even the ulema. In fact the gheebat (backbiting) of ulema has become his best ghiza (food). It is said that the meat of ulema is very poisonous that doing their gheebat can even wipe away one’s eeman. When one is aalame Rabbani, who does not insist on minor sins, does not commit major sins and does not practice any innovation, then to suspect such a person is dangerous to eeman. Prophet ? used to say, “Become an alim and if not, become a talib (student) of ilm. If that is not possible, sit in the majlis of ulema to hear their words and if that too is not possible, then love the ulema to the least but don’t join the fifth group for you will get sunk and that is to have bad opinion about them’” Don’t have rancour against them for you will get sunk. Badgumani is the sin of the heart. Today the quarrels in our home are mainly due to this badgumaani. Having a good opinion about a muslim is a righteous deed and having bad opinion of someone is putting oneself in the problem for tomorrow Allah ? will make you stand to bring the daleel (evidence) for the bad opinion. So save yourself from three sins and inshaaAllah, you will be saved from all the sins.

1. Save oneself from badgumaani-the sin of the heart
2. Don’t do gheebat-the sin of the tongue. Think about one’s own self and why to bother about others but people don’t get enjoyment unless there is no gheebat in the majlis. Prophet ? used to say two things are very easy to do but heavier in scales. One is to remain silent and the other is to have good akhlaq.
3. The third sin is that of eyes. Don’t look at ghair mahram with these eyes. Don’t look at haram things.

2) Al-Ibadah: Its Meaning and what it comprises

Meaning of al-Ibadah:

 The basic meaning of al-Ibadah is humility and submission. In the Sharee'ah, it has numerous definitions, but their meaning is one. From them are;- It is to worship Allah in conformity to what He has ordered upon the tongues of His Messenger. - It is utmost submission with utmost love for Allah. - A more general meaning of al-Ibadah is that it is a comprehensive term for everything that Allah loves and is pleased with from speech and actions inwardly and outwardly.

 Worship is categorized as worship of the heart, tongue and limbs. Fear, hope, love, reliance, desire, reverence are worships of the heart. Tasbeeh, Tahleel, Takbeer, thanking Him by the tongue and heart are worships of the heart and tongue. Salaat, Zakaat, Hajj are worships of the limbs and heart. There are many other worships of the heart, tongue and limbs.

 It is for the purpose of Ibadah that Allah brought into existence all the creation. Allah says, And I (Allah) created not the jinn and humans except they should worship Me (Alone). I seek not any provision from them (i.e. provision for themselves or for My creatures) nor do I ask that they should feed Me (i.e. feed themselves or My creatures). Verily, Allah is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong.' [Soorah adh-Dhariyat (51): 56]

Allah informs us (in this verse) that the wisdom behind creating the Jinn and humans is that they establish His worship. However, Allah is not in need of their worship, but they are in need of Him due to their penury before Him, so they (ought to) worship Him in compliance with His Sharee'ah. So, he, who does not worship Allah is arrogant. He, who worships Him and others with Him is a Mushrik (one, who associates partners with Allah). He, who worships Him by other than what He has legislated is a Mubtadi (an innovator). And He, who worships Him with that which He has legislated is a Mumin (believer) and Muwahhid (one who establishes Tawheed in its correct manner).

Forms of Ibadah and what it Comprises

 Ibadah has many forms, and it includes all forms of outward obedience of the tongue and the limbs and inward obedience of the heart, like remembrance of Allah, Tasbeeh, Tahleel, reciting the Qur'aan, Salaat, Zakaat, Siyam, Hajj, commanding the good and forbidding the evil, doing good to the relatives, orphans, poor and travelers. Similarly, love of Allah and His Messenger, fear of Allah and returning to him, sincerity in the Deen, (Sabr) being patient with His Rule and (Radaa) being pleased with His Decree, (Tawakkul) reliance upon Him, (Rajaa) hope in His Mercy, (Khauf) fear from His punishment (are worships of the heart). Thus, Ibadah includes all the actions of a Mumin (believer), if he intends to worship Allah with them or that which aids this purpose, even his habit (qualify to come under worshipping Allah) if he intends to worship Allah with them, like sleep, food, drink, buying and selling, seeking provision and marriage. Thus, all actions if accompanied by a good intention, develop into worship and worship is thus, not limited to the known rituals.

Source:

Aqeedah At-Tawheed (The Creed of Islâmic Monotheism) by Shaikh Saalih al-Fawzaan

Compiled, edited and adapted by

Khalid Latif,www.thekhalids.org