Welcome to Sufi Course of Self-development
and Purification
A guide to the 1st steps of Sufism and Realization - intro -Draft Version
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About the author - Some experiences and dreams- Sufi Minds of the course - Dua Tanzil ur rahma
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Muhammad Sajad Ali is a Sufi webmaster and Instructor known for this famous website www.deenislam.co.uk and has a two comprehensive Sufi blogs, his latest is the Sufi Synergy Healing Blog . He is always keeping up to date with ongoing studies in healing has created a new method of healing by combining Herbal healing, Essential Oils, Meridian Psychotherapy and Energy Healing into a new Sufi Synergy Healing Course Method and the Founder of the Sadaqah service Uns Foundation UK. He already has completed Trauma Healing and is a qualified Energy Healing Practitioner and has helped many Muslims that need help from abuse and taboo issues and has also taught Sufi Mediation Therapy Exercises and has authored many Sufi articles and is famous online for this Sufi Mind Maps and has a unique way of teaching through His Sufi Mind Mapping technique approach.
Collated by Muhammad Sajad Ali
Sufi Webmaster of Deenislam.co.uk – Author, Instructor, Herbalist and Healing Therapist
Contact: Muhammad Sajad Ali: 07960-85-85-42 - (UK)
islam2jannat@yahoo.co.uk
Bismillahi Babuna
Overview - Sufi Course of Self-development and Purification
A bit about the Sufi Course it will be taken various sources, such as the Shadhili-darqawi, Qadiri from Imam Haddad an understanding about Muhasabah-self auditing as well as an abridged version of 'The Sufi Science of Self-realization' by Shaykh Hisham Kabbani , with accompanying Sufi Mind mapdiagrams linking the text and a Muhasabah-self auditingSufi Matrixsheet to use as a measure and see your progression. Then explains Muraqabah-Sufi visual meditation and the following topic does into detail about the Kalima-affirmation of Gods ones as a source of Sufi meditation . After that borrowing from the ‘Book of the Healing of the Sickness and Pains’ by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Kittani al-Hasani explaining from this book the ‘Practical guide of asking Forgiveness of Wrong Actions’ and from Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim about Sabr-Patience and finally going through the ‘20 Harms of the Tongue’ by Imam Ghazali's taken from his Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din- Revival of Religious Science.
This Course will be looking into the science of Muhasabah-self auditing yourself which is about learning how to self auditing or assessing one’s spiritual state and learn how to self evaluate ones faults for s piritual progress . Many of us that are part of a Sufi path that joined years ago maybe thinking or have thought why I’m I in a spiritual stagnation (stillness no motion or movement spiritually ). And where is my spiritual progress since I’ve joined this path? Maybe the thought has never crossed your mind yet and maybe it needs to be addressed now.
I would say many of us suffer or have spiritual retrogression. (Retrogression means the process of returning to an earlier state, typically a worse one ) That is we go two steps forward with dhikr - remembrance of Allah or some may call it Sufi meditation and then go three steps back due to lack of Adab-manners or faults or slips or sins that we will fall into through our untrained Nafs-ego which is our enemy and weakness.
It is the enemy of the Ruh-soul, The Soul only wants peace and tranquilly which can only happen through dhikr-remembrance of Allah as the Quran says "Only in remembrance of Allah will your heart find peace" (Quran 13: 28) and this can only be given by Allah, but the enemies and there are four in number of the soul don’t want peace and tranquilly for our soul.
How can we fight our Nafs-ego or weaknesses when don’t know what its tricks and traps are and who are other enemies that lie and make close allies to the Nafs-ego, they are Hawa-desires, Dunya-worldliness and Shaytan-satan. You can only truly face your enemy by first training and preparing to win and this can only happen if you stop and face yourself in the mirror and stop lying to yourself and are honest and humble otherwise you will always be in denial and we get no way.
So the purpose of Muhasabah-self auditing is open a new stage of spiritual development and arrive giving your soul nourishment and allowing movement from Spiritual stagnation and Spiritual Retrogression. Know the body is made up of more than 75% water so inwardly if we don’t move we soon become sick too.
To be stagnant means; “not circulating or flowing; dead air; dead water; not growing or changing; without force or vitality, Lacking freshness, motion, flow, progress, or change; stale; motionless; still. Whose growth and development has stopped or due to being block ”. And this is where many of us are on this Sufi Path, the key word is path a path means a way or track laid down for walking or journey but how can we say we are on a path when the road is blocked and we are only going round in circles that is the actual reality was what is happening to us. So it’s time we start digging at our inward at our egos and learn what is blocking our Sufi path so we can journey.
As for adab-manners"he that has the most in adab - manners has the most in Sufism for this is the first Golden Rule of Sufism" and that "the whole of Sufism is adab-manners". The one with adab-manners is he who has constant and perfect awareness of Allah. His heart is always connected to his Lord, at all times and in all situations. That is Perfect adab-manners. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "I was sent to complete the noble (beautiful) character traits of humanity"; and Allah says in the Qur'an, regarding the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) "And you are on an exalted standard of character." (68:4).
We will also be covering in detail the Sufi science of Muraqabah-v isual meditation . It’s more like visualisation/image practice based on the Name of Allah or the deep visualisation or watching of the Sufi Master’s face. The Sufi Term Fana fil Shaykh-‘annihilation in the Shaykh’ or trying to attaining to this level will be explain later.
Overview of Muhasabah - Self-Auditing Assessing One's Spiritual State
Understanding what Muhasabah-self auditing is in the Sufic context and how it applies it to oneself. This is a classical Sufic evaluation which I will create a modern Sufi Mind Map and Muhasabah-self auditingSufi Matrix sheet for the modern Muslim to understand. Based on the sayings or hadith about 'account before you are accounted'- that is accounted on the 'Yawm Hisab - Day of Accounts' Example of Muhasabah-self auditing- a sk yourself do you have Ghill - (holding a grudge, ill-will, spite - rancour, resentment, malice towards anyone? Even if they are wrong and you are right. What the level of Ghibah-backbiting you are surrounded by are you doing Ghibah-backbiting too?
So here is a overview of the process make Niyyah-Intention for 'actions are by intentions' , this is an important part of all the Spiritual exercises (and is the other golden rule of Sufism learn Niyyah – Intention there is more it then just saying the words this is needs to be addressed such as one third of all knowledge is Niyyah-Intention I have spoken about this subject in detail in my other article “ Spiritual Power of Niyyah-Intention ; Understanding the Psychological Impact in Dua-pray and Energy Healing Power” .
And take a Outward Bath – Water of Tawbah-Wudhu meaning with water that is make Wudhu, make intention to clean your body from all sins every commented with 1. eyes, 2. ears, 3. tongue, 4. hands, 5. feet, 6. tongue and 7. Private parts these are all the 7 ways we sin to our hearts.
Know that Wudhu washes away sins and it’s very important you make Wudhu with presence and you don’t talk and you take care of it, for only when you make Wudhu with presence and make Wudhu as if its Ibadah-worship will Khushu in Salah–awe or humbleness, or taste the sweetness of prayer appear, know when you wear Wudhu on your bodies that Wudhu is Nur-illumination and illumination means; light up, throw light on, make brighter, shine on, decorate with lights. Wudhu, thus wear your Wudhu for Nur-Light can burn darkens of Sins.
Then the Inward Bath - Water of Tawbah-repentance from your heart wash away all your Ghill-(Hatred, holding a grudge, rancour, resentment, malice) towards anyone? Even if they are wrong and you are right. How much Ghibah-backbiting have you have done? As for Ghill-holding a grudge - just breathe deeply take a few times breaths and say ‘for the sake of Allah and his beloved Holy Prophet –peace be upon him, I forgive all those that have caused me issues, Oh Allah the affair is with you now’.
Then we pay attention lastly and more the most difficult one that being Gadab-anger and our issues relating what makes us set the fire of anger in ourselves it’s the lack of Sabr-patience which is mentioned in the holy Quran 90 times by name.
The above needs to be measured through a Muhasabah-self auditing Sufi matrix sheet which are based following rules and are recorded daily on a Sufi matrix sheet and from this may result in having dreams or spiritual experiences these all need to recorded via dairy over a period of 40 days and this is important to only through this can we analysis ones progress.
Some people may and will find this difficult but remember this, Allah has put in your Qadr-destiny, Good and bad or bitterness that has happened in your life was written to happen the fact it has happen means its Qadr-destiny and you can’t cry or moan about that at, Allah wants you be grow spiritually When Allah loves you he breaks your heart, Allah says I’m with the Broken hearted, so if you’re broken hearted it means you have a heart that is alive and not dead and that only Allah can fix your heart through his dhikr-remembrance of Allah. His remembrance sometimes means he wants you to do Khidma-serving helping others. Know that spiritual process doesn’t end with the physical death of the body, no for the journey continues in Jannah-heaven there is still spiritual progression it doesn’t stop in this dunya-worldliness its continues and continues in Janna-heaven too.
Let me give you an example how to effectively use Muhasabah-self auditing with Ghibah-backbiting. Now Ghibah-backbiting is like getting your good deeds such as dhikr-remembrance of Allah and giving them all away for free and in return picking their sins and putting them on your neck and burdening your soul, just stop and think about that for a moment giving away for free your hard earned dhikr-remembrance of Allah hours and weeks and months of dhikr-remembrance of Allah just with a one word you start to give it all away.
Would you work for months and months or even years and years and with a few silly pointless words give all your money away, you would never even think for doing that as you know its madness. But here we are unaware or really unconscious not even paying attention half the time to what we are saying, we are untrained and don’t realise the affects and impact to our Spiritual progression or our case retrogression it really having to our souls.
Yet here we are complaining that our dhik-remembrance of Allah is not getting us spiritually far, yes because we’re not really moving, we going in circles until we learn STOP doing the dhikr – remember of Ghibah-backbiting and Gill-holding a grudge and Ghadab-anger. As for Ghiba - backbiting people don’t realise they are doing Ghibah-backbiting most of the time so until one is made aware only then will they know the damage they are causing their hearts and good deeds.
We will get no way and never have any Spiritual progression in any tariqah–path it doesn’t matter which Sufi Master you go to here or there or travel the world which is a big circle all you would have achieved is travelling a big circle in all your years maybe 20 years or 10 years less of your life and still move no way, in Sufism we sit and travel inside with our hearts first they need to travel and move.
The people of Sufi Tariqah are always turning their Tasibah-pray beads but are their hearts always don’t turn too. We need to remember the Sunnah Dua of; “Oh Turner of the Hearts keep our Hearts firm on Your Religion - Yaa muqallibal quloob Thabbit qalbi ‘ala deenik.” And need to know the first steps and turn our hearts through Tawba– repentance. The meaning of Tawbah - repentance means a U Turn from going the wrong way.
One of the Sunnah Naseeah–advise about Ghibah–backbiting is simply if you can’t find something nice to say about someone say nothing all’ keep your mouth close and busy yourself with the dhikr–remembrance of Allah that has been given to you or find a positive thing to say so say please I don’t want to listen to your Ghibah–backbiting about so and so if you are listening and if they don’t change the subject leave the room.
So the 1st step without which there can be No Journey to Allah is Tawba- repentance. But what have we not repented from and have not realized what needs repentance ? And what is blocking our spiritual progress? By using Muhasabah-self-auditing or taking oneself to account does this allow you to identify every sin one commits and needs to stop and reflect or contemplate about these sins, weakness, slips of bad Adab-manner, mistakes ..etc
See the Muhasabah-self auditing Sufi matrix sheet to measure yourself every night! If you pass this test then you have indeed travelled or have made spiritual progress otherwise you are in loss.
Assessing One's Spiritual State - Imam Al-Haddad and Muhasabah
In the diagram 2 Muhasabah mind map I’ve added in the ‘the Golden Mean’. This needs to be known and understood as part of applying Muhasabah-self-auditing on one’s self is to have moderation, deliberation and good manners over wise you can and will over do it and fail completely. The Golden Mean is taken from ‘Knowledge and Wisdom’ by Imam Al-Haddad. Know that moderation and steering a middle course are required in all affairs and must be maintained. It has been handed down that “the best of the things are the middle ones”. And, “Moderation, deliberation, and graceful manners are one of twenty-five parts of prophet-hood.”
Should a man wish to know whether he is rising or falling in religious terms, he should look at how his state and conduct had been a month or a year ago? If he finds that they were better than his present state and conduct, he should know that he is descending into degradation; whereas if he finds that his present state and conduct are better, he should know that he is rising and improving.
It has been handed down that "he who finds that his day resembles the previous day has been cheated, and he who finds that his day is worse than the previous day is accursed." Accursed here means remote from a particular and specially accorded to mercy. He who is not increasing is diminishing.
To explain, if when thinking about previous days, you feel that you then had no desire for the world, were eager for the Hereafter, scrupulously avoided doubtful things, were quick to good actions, quick to obedience, remote from transgressions, and by comparison are now no better or are to any extent worse, then know that you are going down, deteriorating in religion, in your aspiration for God, and in striving for the Hereafter. You should then feel apprehensive and fearful and then begin to show resolution and exert effort.
If, on the other hand, you find that you have more aspiration and eagerness than before, then thank God the Exalted even more, remember His gifts and graciousness, and be ever attentive to them. You should not feel pleased with yourself, nor think that it is due to your own ability and power, for as God the Exalted has said, Had it not been for the favour upon God upon you, and His mercy, not one of you would ever have grown pure; but God purifies whom He wills, and God is all-hearing, all-knowing (24:21) by Imam 'Abdallah ibn 'Alawi al-Haddad, Knowledge and Wisdom (Fusus al-'ilmiyah wa-al-usul al-hikamiyah)
Contents of Book (Order your copy Today and Purchase the Book and the Sufi Mind Maps too )
About the author - Some experiences and dreams-(See the bottom of Mind Maps for this)
Overview of Muhasabah - Self-Auditing Assessing One's Spiritual State
Assessing One's Spiritual State - Imam Al-Haddad and Muhasabah
Haram-forbidden and Suspect Food from Imam Haddad
Veiling spiritual growth through four daily ways of consuming Haram-forbidden foods.
Imam Hadadad says mentions that: Haram-prohibited and Suspect Food
Muhasabah-self auditing ourselves and leaving zaan-suspicion
Muhasabah-self auditing and leaving faults of others.
So how can we do this in the Modern Day to Asses ones Spiritual state for progress?
An evaluation of one’s own abilities and failings
Muhasabah-self Auditing on being honest with oneself
Muhasabah –Auditing Assessing One's Spiritual State
Analysing your Self Auditing
Muhasabah Self-Auditing Assessing One's Spiritual State Ghibah -1
Do Not Backbite One Another
There are 5 levels of Ghiba-backbiting
Muhasabah-Self Auditing Assessing One's Spiritual State Anger-Ghadab - 2
Muhasabah-Self-Auditing Assessing One's Spiritual State
Ghill – Grudge - 3
What Stops Our Duas-prays and Mercy is Ghill-grudges
There are four exceptions who will not be forgiven in the month of Ramadhan
Make a Dua-pray against holding a Grudge
Prohibition of Nursing Grudges
Cures for Gill-Grudge
Hadith of Gifts
Muhasabah - Self-Auditing - Assessing One's Spiritual State
Abridged 'The Sufi Science of Self-realization
‘A guide to the Seventeen Ruinous Traits from by Shaykh Hisham Kabbani.
The Secrets of Muraqaba–the Sufi Science or technique of Meditation
Introduction to understanding Muraqaba
Muraqba in Islamic history
The Actual Method of Muraqaba - Technique for Visualizing the Shaykh .
The technique of breathing -Inhale and Exhale
Lengthening the Pronunciation of La-e-laha ill-lal-lah -'Erases 4,000 Grave Sins'
Learn and Say:- La-e-lahaa ill-lal-lah [Shahada : Testimony to the Unity] Meaning:- There is no divinity But(Except) God
If your searching for Islam or finding out is Islam is for you, the n the following practice May help you, Or you want to Strength your Faith in God.
The Shahada has 24 Letters making 7 words each letter forgives every hour of each day, and the 7 words is for each for the 7 organs -forgiving the 7 ways one sins each closing one of 7 doors of hell when recited
Tawba-repentance
Introduction to Practical Guide of Asking Forgiveness of Wrong Actions
A Practical Guide of asking Forgiveness of Wrong Actions - Tawba-repentance from Book of the Healing of the Sickness and Pains by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Kittani al-Hasani
Never Despair in the Mercy of Allah - Forgiveness: Islamic Perspective
The 100 Levels of Allah Almighty's Mercy
Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim section on Sabr-Patience
Secrets of Allah's Mercy in forgiving sins though Sickness and Hardship
Hardships Benefit the Believer
Reward of Sins and Sign of Allah's Love
Retaining Rewards for Deeds Before Sickness
20 Harms of the Tongue by Imam Ghazali's Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din- Revival of Religious Science
Contact: Muhammad Sajad Ali: 07960-85-85-42 - (UK)
islam2jannat@yahoo.co.uk