Category: The Path

Balancing Seeking Knowledge and Remembrance of Allah

A Tunisian scholar asked Sayyidi Habib `Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him):

How does one balance between seeking knowledge and spending time in the remembrance of Allah (reading awrad or litanies)?

Habib Umar replied:

“The key to seeking knowledge is the soundness of one’s intention. If one’s intention is sound and pure, then seeking knowledge is one of the best acts of worship and one of the best forms of remembrance. Continue reading Balancing Seeking Knowledge and Remembrance of Allah

On Free Will

Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)

Does man have free will or not?

Man’s Creator requests things from him and decrees things to occur by him. Man has a choice in that which is requested from him but he has no choice in that which is decreed to occur by him. Our role in life is thus to perform that which has been requested from us as well as we can using the strength and ability which we have been given. Continue reading On Free Will

Preparing to Meet Allah by Guarding our Sight, Hearing and Speech

Advice from Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him): We must guard our sight, our hearing and our speech. If we do so our hearts will be protected and we will attain uprightness. When we look at, listen to or talk about that which does not concern us we are at odds with our fitrah, the state in which Allah created us. Continue reading Preparing to Meet Allah by Guarding our Sight, Hearing and Speech

Holding Fast to the Rope of Allah

Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz encourages us to hold fast to the Rope of Allah.

Many people in this day and age, believers and disbelievers alike fear death, illness, trials, imprisonment due to breaking the law, poverty, and so forth. Yet, when we reflect carefully upon all these fears, we would realize that each one of these fears is in the domain of Allah. No single human being dies except that his or her death has been ordained by Allah. No morsel of food and no sip of water enter anyone’s mouth except that it is by Allah’s will. Continue reading Holding Fast to the Rope of Allah

On General Protection from Evil

Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)

What can I recite for general protection?

Taqwa is the foundation of all protection. Every act of worship performed with sincerity protects the one who performs it. Reciting Ayat al-Kursi has a specific effect in protecting one if it is recited after every prayer, before sleeping and when entering and leaving the house. The awrad of Shaykh Abu Bakr al-Sakran, Imam al-Nawawi and Shaykh Abu Bakr bin Salim are among the greatest litanies composed by the pious for protection.

 

On Differentiating Between Wisdom and Caprice

Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)

How can I differentiate between when I act out of wisdom and when I act following the caprice (hawa) of the lower self?

Caprice and wisdom are in opposition to each other. Someone driven by his caprice rushes to gratify the desires of his lower self in a state of heedlessness of Allah. Someone who acts out of wisdom, on the other hand, rushes to seek that which pleases Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, and this is hard for his lower self. He experiences tranquillity, especially when he remembers Allah, and increases in humility and abasement in front of Allah.

On the Role of the Shaykh in Purification of the Heart

Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)

What is the role of the Shaykh in purification of the heart?

The Shaykh is the most important means of removing the seeker’s blameworthy traits. The Shaykh is not someone who makes false claims or performs miracles but rather someone who is upright in his religion and has a sanad (chain of connection) in purification of the heart. If the seeker is truthful, Allah will cause him to meet a shaykh who will purify him.

On Balancing the Qur’an and Adhkar

Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)

What do I do if I do not have enough time to recite the Qur’an, read my adhkar and perform other acts of worship?

The general rule is that you try to combine all these acts of worship and have a specific time for everything. However, if there is not enough time for everything, precedence should be given to reciting the Qur’an, as this is one of the greatest adkhar. But bear in mind that one of the Qur’an’s injunctions is to engage in dhikr. Engaging in dhikr is thus acting upon the Qur’an. You should not allow the Devil to trick you into completely leaving the adhkar because he may then trick you into leaving the Qur’an too.