Fighting the Ego (Jihad an-Nafs)

Imam Shafi`i said, may God have mercy on him:

"Only the sincere one (mukhlis) knows hypocrisy (riya')." This means that it is impossible to know the reality of hypocrisy and see its hidden shades except for one who resolutely seeks sincerity. That one strives for a long time (yajtahidu azmanan) searching and meditating and examining at length within himself until he knows or knows something of what hypocrisy is. This does not happen for everyone. Indeed, this happens only with the special ones (al-khawass). But for a given individual to claim that he knows what hypocrisy is, this is real ignorance on his part.

I shall mention in this book a chapter, God willing, in which you will see a type of wonder that will cool your eyes. To illustrate the great extent of the concealment of hypocrisy we only need relate the following from the Teacher and Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri [the sufi shaykh], may God have mercy on him, from his 'Risala' with our isnad previously mentioned.

He said:
"I heard Muhammad ibn al-Husayn say: I heard Ahmad ibn `Ali ibn Ja`far say: I heard al-Hasan ibn `Alawiyya say: Abu Yazid [al-Bistami], may God be well pleased with him, said: I was for twelve years the blacksmith of my ego, then for five years I became the mirror of my heart (mir'atu qalbi), then for a year I looked at what lay between the two of them and I saw around me a visible belt [i.e. of kufr]. So I strove to cut it for twelve years and then looked again, and I saw around me a hidden belt. So I worked to cut it for five years, looking to see how to cut. Then it was unveiled for me and I looked at creation and saw that they were all dead. So I recited the funeral prayer over them."

I (Imam Nawawi) say: That hypocrisy should be as inscrutable as this to the peerless master in this path [i.e. tasawwuf] is enough to show how greatly hidden it lies. His phrase: "I saw them dead" is the apex of worth and beauty, and seldom do other than the Prophet's words, Blessings and Peace be upon him, gather up such wealth of meanings. I shall touch upon its meaning briefly. It means that after he had struggled long and hard and his ego had been disciplined and his heart illumined, and when he had conquered his ego and subdued it and achieved complete mastery over it, and it had subjected himself to him totally, at that time he looked at all created beings and found that they were dead and completely powerless:

• they cannot harm nor can they benefit;
• they cannot give nor can they keep back;
• they cannot give life nor can they give death;
• they cannot convey nor can they cut off;
• they cannot bring near nor can they take away;
• they cannot make happy nor can they make sad;
• they cannot bestow nor can they deprive;
• they possess for themselves neither benefit nor harm,
• nor death, nor life, nor resurrection.

This, then, characterizes human beings as dead: they are considered dead in all of the above respects, they are neither feared nor entreated, what they have is not coveted, they are not shown off to nor fawned upon, one does not concern oneself with them, they are not envied nor disparaged, their defects are not mentioned nor their faults pursued and exposed, one is not jealous of them nor thinks much of whatever God-given favors they have received, and they are forgiven and excused for their shortcomings, although the legal punishments (al-hudud) are applied to them according to the Law. But the application of such punishment does not preclude what we have mentioned before, nor does it preclude our endeavoring to cover up their faults without disparaging them in the least.

This then is how the dead are viewed. And if someone mentions human beings in a dishonorable manner we forbid him from entering into that subject in the same way that we would if he were going to examine a person who died. We do not do anything for their sake nor do we leave Him for them. And we no more stop ourselves from fulfilling an act of obedience to God on their account than we do on account of a dead person, and we do not over-praise them. And we neither love their own praise for us nor hate their insults, and we do not reciprocate them.

In sum, they are as it were non-existent in all the respects we have mentioned. They are under God's complete care and jurisdiction. Whoever deals with them in such a way, he has combined the good of the next world with that of the lower world. May God the Generous grant us success towards achieving this. These few words are enough to touch upon an explanation for his [Abu Yazid al-Bistami's] saying -- May God be well pleased with him.

Blessings and Peace upon the Purified Prophet, his Family, and his Companions

Imam Nawawi's 'Bustan al-`arifin' (The Garden of Gnostics), Beirut: Dar al-kitab al-`arabi, 1405/1985 p. 53-54.

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Fiqh of Ahl-Allah: On Reflection (Imam al-Haddad)

On Reflection (FIKR)

Of: Imam 'Abdallah Ibn 'Alawi al-Haddad Rady Allahu 'Anhu

Translated by: Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi, Madina

You should have a wird of reflection in every twenty-four hours, for which you should set aside one or more hours. The best time for reflection is the one in which are the least pre-occupations, worries, and more potential for the heart to be present, such as the depths of the night. Know that the state of one's religious and worldly affairs depend upon soundness of one's reflection. Anyone who has a share of it has an abundant share of everything good. It has been said : 'An hour's reflection is better than a year's worship.' 'Ali, may God ennoble his face, has said: 'There is no worship like reflection.' And one of the gnostics; may God have mercy on them all, said: 'Reflection is the lamp of the heart; if it departs the heart will have no light.'

The ways of reflection are many. One, which is the most noble of them, is to reflect on the wonders of God's dazzling creation, the inward and outward signs of His Ability, and the signs He has scattered abroad in the Realm of the earth and the heavens. This kind of reflection increases your knowledge of the Essence, Attributes, and Names of God. He has encouraged it by saying:Say: Look at what is in the heavens and the earth! (10:101)

Reflect on the wondrous creations He has made, and on yourself. He has said: In the earth are signs for those who have certainty, and in yourselves; can you not see? (51:20-21)

Know that you must reflect on the favors of God, and His bounties which He caused to reach you.

Remember the favors of God, that you may succeed. (7:69)

Should you (attempt to) number the favors of God, you would not be able to do so. (16:18)

All good things that you possess are from God. (16:53)

This kind of reflection results in the heart filling with the love of God, and continuously rendering thanks to Him, inwardly and outwardly, in a manner that pleases and satisfies Him.

Know that you should reflect on God's complete awareness of you, and His seeing and knowing all about you.

We have created man, and We know what his soul whispers to him; and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein. (50:16)

And He is with you wherever you are, and God sees what you do. (57:4)

Have you not seen that God knows what is in the heavens and the earth, and no three (persons) converse but that He is their fourth?(58:7)

This kind of reflection results in your feeling ashamed before God should He see you where He has forbidden you to be, or miss you where He has commanded you to be. Know that you must reflect on your shortcomings in worshipping your Lord, and your exposing yourself to His wrath should you do what He has forbidden you.

I created jinn and men only to worship Me. (51:56)

Do you think We created you in vain, and that to Us you will not be returned? (23:115)

O man! What is it that has deceived you concerning your Generous Lord? (82:6)

This kind of reflection increases your fear of God, encourages you to blame and reproach yourself, to avoid remissness and persevere in your zeal.

Know that you must reflect on this worldly life, its numerous preoccupations, hazards, and the swiftness with which it perishes, and upon the hereafter, and its felicity and permanence.

Thus does God render the signs clear to you, that you may reflect on this world and the hereafter. (2:119-220)

But you may prefer the life of this world, when the hereafter is better and more abiding. (87:16-17)

The life of the world is but distraction and play; while the Last Abode is indeed the Life, if but they knew. (29:64)

This kind of reflection results in losing all desire for the world, and in wishing for the hereafter.

Know that you should reflect on the imminence of death and the regret and remorse which occur when it is too late.

Say: The death that you flee will indeed meet you, and you will then be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will inform you of that which you had been doing.(62:8)

Until, when death comes to one of them he says: 'My Lord! Send me back that I may do good in that which I have left!' No! It is but a word he says. (23:99-100)

O you who believe! Let not your wealth or your children distract you from the remembrance of God! up to: But God will not reprieve a soul whose time has come. (63:9-11)

The benefit of this kind of reflection is that hopes become short, behavior better, and provision is gathered for the Appointed Day.

Know that you should reflect on those attributes and acts by which God has described His friends and His enemies, and on the immediate and delayed rewards which He has prepared for each group.

The righteous are in felicity, and the depraved are in hell.(82:13-14)

Is the one who is a believer like the one who is corrupt? They are not equal. (32:18)

As for the one who gave, had taqwa, and believed in goodness, We shall ease him into ease, (92:5-7)up to the end of the sura.

The believers are those who, when God is mentioned, their hearts tremble, up to: they will have degrees with their Lord, and forgiveness, and generous provision. (8:2-4)

God has promised those among you who have believed and done good works that He will make them rulers over the earth as He made those before them rulers. (24:55)

Each we took for their sin; on some we sent a hurricane, some were taken by the Cry, some We caused the earth to swallow, and some We drowned. It was not for God to wrong them, but they wronged themselves. (29:40)

Hypocrite men and hypocrite women proceed one from another; they enjoin evil and forbid good, up to: God curses them, and theirs is a lasting torment.(9:67- 68)

Believing men and believing women are helping friends to each other; they enjoin good and forbid evil. up to: and good pleasure from God which is greater; that is the supreme gain. (9:71-72)

Those who do not expect to meet Us, are content with the life of the world and feel secure therein, up to: and the end of their prayer is, Praised be God, the Lord of the Worlds! (10:7-10)

The result of this kind of reflection is that you come to love the fortunate, habituate yourself to emulating their behavior and taking on their qualities, and detest the wretched, and habituate yourself to avoiding their behavior and traits of character.

Were we to allow ourselves to pursue the various channels of reflection we would have to forgo the brevity which we intended. That which we have mentioned should suffice the man of reason.

You should with each kind of reflection, bring to mind those verses, hadiths and other narratives relating to it. We have given an example of this by quoting some of the verses related to each kind of reflection.

Beware of reflecting on the Essence of God and His Attributes in the wish to understand their nature and how they exist. No one ever became enamoured of this without falling into the abysses of negation (ta'til) or the traps of anthropomorphism (tashbih). The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, has said: 'Reflect on the signs of God, and do not reflect on His Essence, for you will never be able to give Him His due.'

Source: Imam 'Abdallah Ibn 'Alawi al-Haddad, Risaalatu'l Mu'awanah(The Book of Assistance), translated by Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi, The Quilliam Press, UK, 1989, p31-34.

The Proper Manners of Salams and Gatherings

The Proper Manners (Adaab) of Giving Salams

1. In a gathering where a talk or discussion is taking place, the person entering should not draw attention to himself by making salaam. He should not become an interference in the talk. He should lower his gaze and silently sit down. When later the opportunity arises, he may make Salaam.
   
2. Adopt the practice of mutual Salaam. Whenever meeting a Muslim, say: ASSALAMU ALAIKUM. In reply say: WA ALAIKUMUS SALAAM. Other ways are baseless.
   
3. When a person conveys the Salaams of another to you, reply: ALAYHIM WA ALAIKUMS SALAAM. This is best. If someone replies: WA-ALAIKUMUS SALAAM, it will also suffice.
   
4. One person of the group making Salaam will be representative of the whole group. His Salaam will be adequate on behalf of the group. Similarly, if from the gathering one person replied, it will suffice on behalf of the whole gathering.
   
5. The one who initiates the Salaam obtains greater reward.
   
6. When replying to the Salaam of a person, the Salaam should be made verbally [f: and it is obligatory that it be audible], not by a sign of the hand or a nod of the head.
   
7. Better repayment for a favour will be when the repayment is somewhat more than the act of favour rendered. Thus, the reply should be more than the Salaam (greeting). If ASSALAMU ALAIKUM was said, the better reply will be WA ALAIKUMUS SALAAM WARAHMATULLAAH. If WA BARAKAA TUHU is also added it will be an added merit.
   
8. It is waajib (obligatory) to reply to the Salaam which is written in a letter. This reply may be in writing or verbally.
   
9. The Fuqaha have said that in reply to the Salaam which is written in a letter, one may say ALAIKUMUS SALAAM or even ASSALAMU- ALAIKUM.
   
10. In a letter in which a dua is written, the Salaam should be written first since this is the Sunnat method.
    
11. Instead of writing or saying the Salaam, to say any other term or to adopt the greeting of any other community is bid'ah. Such an alien greeting is in fact alteration of the Shariah.
    
12. A person who is engrossed in a conversation or in some work should not be greeted. The new-comer should not intrude with his hand-shaking. Such an act is uncultured and causes distress to others.

The Proper Manners (Adaab) of Social Gatherings

1. When you have to wait for someone in a gathering, do not sit in such a place or in such a way as to convey that you are waiting. This action will create unnecessary anxiety for the one whom you are waiting for. Sit down quietly at a distance from the person in an inconspicuous way. (An emergency or urgency will obviously be excluded from this rule)
   
2. When going to meet a person then on arrival notify him in some way of your presence. Such notification may be by Salaam, speech or by sitting down (in a gathering) where you may be observed. (This rule does not apply to a public gathering, e.g. a public lecture in a Masjid or other public venue.) Without having informed the person concerned of your arrival do not sit down in such a place which conceals your presence. It is quite possible that he may engage in some conversation which is not meant for your ears. In this way the private affairs of another person may be unwittingly overheard. It is not permissible to overhear the secrets and private affairs of others without their consent. On such occasions if it transpires that someone is engaging in a private conversation without having knowledge of your presence, then immediately leave the place. If this happens while the speaker is under the impression that you are asleep, then immediately reveal that you are not asleep. If the matter being discussed pertains to the infliction of harm or loss to you or to any Muslim, then it will be permissible to overhear such schemes and plots to enable you to protect yourself.
   
3. When sitting in the company of a person do not sit in such close proximity as to cause inconvenience to him nor sit so far away that it becomes difficult to conduct the conversation with ease.
   
4. Don't sit staring at a person who is involved in some work. This distracts his attention and disturbs his peace.
   
5. It is disrespectful to unnecessarily sit directly behind someone in close proximity. The person in front is disturbed thereby.
   
6. When someone is sitting and engaged in some work do not stand in his presence waiting for him to attend to you. Sit down and address him as soon as he is relieved of the work.
   
7. When going to meet a person do not sit with him so long as to inconvenience him or to cause an impediment in his work.
   
8. Where people are gathered do not spit or clean your nose in their presence unnecessarily. For such acts leave their presence.

[from Adab al-Mu`ashara (Social Etiquette) by Imam Ashraf Ali Thanwi]

Imam Ghazali on the Manners of Eating

Chapter One

What is Necessary for the Person Eating Alone Being three Sections: Before the Food is Served; When One is Eating; When the Meal is Over.

On the manners to be observed before the meal and they are:

The first [rule of conduct]: that the food be lawful both in itself and in the means by which it was acquired; that it shall be in accordance with the Sunna and with piety. It should not have been gained through anything contrary to canonical law, nor through some evil inclination, nor deceit relating to debt—and agreeing with what will be presented in the Book of the Lawful and Unlawful regarding the meaning of what is unconditionally good.

God has ordered the eating of that which is good (al-tayyib), this being the lawful. He has put the prohibition of ‘wrongful eating’ (al-akl bi’l-batil) before that of killing, in order to illustrate the gravity of that which is unlawful and the greatness of the blessing of that which is lawful. He said, ‘O you Who believe, squander not your wealth (la ta’kalu amwalakum) among yourselves in vanity...And kill not one another,’ to the end of the verse. The basic principle with respect to food is that food must be good, this being one of the duties and fundamentals of religion.

The second [rule of conduct] is to wash one’s hands. The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) has said, ‘Ablution performed before a meal banishes poverty, ablution after a meal banishes minor sins.” And in another version, ‘[Ablution performed] both before and after the meal banishes poverty.’ Since the hand cannot escape dirt in the performance of tasks, washing it is the best way to keep it clean and unsullied. And because eating as a support for religion is a form of worship, it is proper that one approach it in the same state as for prayers.

The third [rule of conduct] is to place the food on a sufra on the ground—for this is closest to what the Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) did—rather than to place it on a raised table. ‘When food was brought to the Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace), he would place it on the ground,’ for this is closer to humility. If not, then it should be on a sufra, as a reminder of travelling; and travelling puts in mind travelling to the Afterlife and the need for provision in the form of pious deeds. Anas ibn Malik said, ‘The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) ate neither on a table (khiwan) nor in a sukurruja.’ Someone asked: ‘On what have you been eating, then?’ ‘On a sufra,’ he said.

It was said that after [the death of] the Emissary of God four things were introduced: tables, sieves, potash, and repletion. Know that although we have said that eating on a sufra is more appropriate, we do not say that eating on a table is proscribed as either distasteful or forbidden, for no proscription of it has been established. As for the claim that it was an innovation that occurred after the Emissary of God, not everything innovated is proscribed, but only that innovation which is contrary to an established Sunna, as it does away with the canonical law while not solving the problem. However, innovation may be required in cases where the circumstances have changed. For there is nothing about a table other than food has been raised from the floor and laid out on it for facility of eating and the like. And there is nothing abhorrent about this.

The four things together regarded as innovation are not of equal importance. Potash is good because of its cleansing properties. Washing is desirable for cleanliness and potash perfects cleaning. People had not been using potash perhaps because they were not accustomed to doing so, or it was not easily available, or they were preoccupied with matters more important than indulging in excessive cleanliness. Thus they also used not to wash their hands [before and after meals], their [only drying] cloth being the hollow in the soles of their feet. This, however, does not preclude the desirability of washing.

As for the sieve, its purpose is to render food more pleasant. This is permissible so long as it does not lead to a life of excessive luxury. Just as the table is helpful in eating, it, too, is permissible so long as it does not lead to pride and haughtiness. Repletion is the worst of the four in that it arouses the passions and activates maladies in the body. Therefore, understand the difference between these innovations.

The fourth [rule of conduct] is that upon sitting at the sufra one ought to sit properly and remain in that position. Thus, ‘The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) used often to squat down on his knees and sit on his heels for the meal. At other times he would raise his right leg and sit on his left.’ He used to say: ‘I do not eat when reclining... for I am but a slave; I eat as a slave eats and sit as a slave sits.’

To drink when reclining is also disagreeable for the stomach, and to eat lying down or reclining is abhorrent except when munching seeds and berries. It was related concerning Ali (may God ennoble his countenance) that he ate dry bread from a shield while lying down—[in another version], while lying prostrate on his stomach, which the Bedouin Arabs sometimes did.

The fifth [rule of conduct] is to have the intention, when eating, of strengthening oneself in obedience to God, so as to be obedient through food and not to seek gratification and luxurious living through food. Ibrahim ibn Shayban said, ‘For eighty years I have not eaten anything for my own appetite.’ And yet he resolved to lessen his intake of food. Since he ate for the purpose of increasing his capacity for worship, his intention was sincere only when he ate less than what satisfied him, for repletion obstructs worship and does not increase the capacity for it. Thus for this intention it is necessary that one’s appetite be broken, and that one prefer frugality to being distended.

The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘No human being has ever filled a container worse than his own stomach. The son of Adam needs no more than some morsels of food to keep up his strength; doing so, he should consider that a third of [his stomach] is for food, a third for drink and a third for breathing.

With regard to this intention, the person must refrain from stretching his hand towards the food unless he is hungry, for hunger is something which must always precede eating. Then he must raise up his hand before repletion. Doing so, he dispenses with doctors. The benefit of eating little and of gradually reducing one’s food intake will be dealt with in the ‘Chapter of Destroying the Appetite for Food’, from the fourth section of those things that bring about a man’s end.

The sixth [rule of conduct] is to be content with any sustenance and any food available. One should not strive for luxury, ask for more or expect a condiment in which to dip one’s bread. In fact, it is a mark of the esteem accorded to bread that no condiment be served with it.

One Tradition enjoins holding bread in esteem, for every thing that keeps the spark of life alive and strengthens one’s capacity for worship is of great benefit and should not be despised. In fact, when the time for prayer arrives, one should not put off eating bread [i.e., the meal] if there is sufficient time. The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘If the time for evening prayers and that of supper coincide, begin with the supper.’ Abd Allah Ibn Umar would often hear the Imam reciting [the Qur’an at prayers] and would not rise from his supper. So long as one does not yearn for food and there is no harm in putting off the time for food, it is more seemly to give preference to prayer. But if the food is ready and the time for prayer has come, and by putting off the meal the food will become cold or spoiled, giving it preference is more desirable when there is time, whether one craves it or not—according to most Traditions. This is because one cannot abstain from thinking about food that has been laid out, even when it is not very hungry.

The seventh [rule of conduct] is that one should try to have many hands partake of the meal, even if they be only your women and children. The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘Gather together over your food and you will be blessed in it.’ Anas [ibn Malik] said, ‘The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) used not to eat alone.’ And the Emissary of God said, ‘The best food is that over which there are many hands.’

Book XI of the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din)
Translated by: DENYS JOHNSON-DAVIES

The States of the Soul and Being Patient

Chapter Eleven: The States of the Soul and Being Patient

Know, disciple, that the beginning of the path is patience, and it's end is thankfulness. Its beginning is difficulty, and its end is bliss. Its beginning is toil and weariness, and its end is opening, unveiling and arrival at the ultimate goal which is the gnosis of God, arrival to Him, being comforted by Him and standing in His noble Presence with His angels standing before Him. The one who makes gracious patience the foundation of all his affairs attains to every goodness, reaching everything he hopes for, and wins all that he seeks.

[Excerpt from Good Manners by Imam Abdallah ibn Alawi al-Haddad -Trans. Mostafa Al-Badawi]