Category: Travelling the Path

Bad Decisions and the Lower Self

“Kill Yusuf or banish him to another land, and your father’s attention will be free to turn to you. After that you can be righteous” (12:8).

This was Yusuf’s brothers’ plan but what did they gain? The years passed and they didn’t achieve their goal. Their father was not happy with them. He remained in a state of sadness and their life remained difficult. In fact, they only got what they wanted when they recognised Yusuf’s status and submitted to him decades later. Continue reading Bad Decisions and the Lower Self

No Ordinary Love

“Although we are many, Yusuf and his brother are dearer to our father than we are – our father is clearly in the wrong” (12:8)

We find that the Prophets may love certain individuals more than others. That individual may be a wife or a child or a companion. This is because their love is for Allah’s sake. The more the individual possesses attributes beloved to Allah, the more that prophet will love them. No one would deny that the Prophet ﷺ loved Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali more than other Companions. Continue reading No Ordinary Love

Roll up the distance between me and Your Beloved!

In these supplications, Habib Ali al-Habashi (may Allah have mercy upon him and benefit us by him) teaches us to seek high degrees of love and closeness to Allah and His Beloved ﷺ :

 

اللَّهُمَّ اطْوِ مَسَافَةَ البُعْدِ بَيْنِي وبَيْنَ حَبِيبِكَ المًصْطَفى

Continue reading Roll up the distance between me and Your Beloved!

On Receiving Spiritual Gifts and not being distracted by them

Every believer generally and those taking the spiritual path specifically should perform their obligations with excellence and strive for presence therein while seeking to strengthen their certainty. Whatever spiritual gifts – such as tranquillity, serenity and a feeling of connection – they receive in the course of that are from Allah and go back to Him. They are not theirs. Continue reading On Receiving Spiritual Gifts and not being distracted by them

What is Meant by Fighting Against the Nafs?

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

When scholars talk about fighting against the nafs (lower self) this is not meant literally. Harming the nafs is not what is intended. What is meant is purifying it and elevating it. Fulfilling its desires and followings its whims is what really harms it. Doing the opposite, although it may be difficult, is what really benefits it. Any dhikr performed with presence of heart also helps to purify the nafs.

Seek Forgiveness and Confound the Devil!

Habib Muhammad al-Haddar reminds us of the greatness of seeking forgiveness and how this confounds the Devil.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “The one who keeps seeking forgiveness is not regarded as a persistent sinner even if he were to return to the same sin seventy times a day.”[1]

All praise belongs to Allah for the blessing of seeking forgiveness (istighfar). Even if you were to keep committing a sin seventy times but you sought forgiveness, your Lord is All-Forgiving. The main thing is you seek forgiveness with your tongue and your heart. If the Devil tries to outdo you by sending you astray, outdo him by seeking forgiveness more. Continue reading Seek Forgiveness and Confound the Devil!

On Good Signs and Indications

The Prophet ﷺ used to love optimism and positivity and dislike pessimism and negativity. He would tend to see things around him as good signs and not as bad signs. What is meant by this is that you hear or see something and interpret it to be a good sign of things that are happening or will happen in the future.

One of the practices of the pious is to open the poetry collections of the Imams of the past with the intention of seeking guidance regarding a matter facing them at that time (for example, whether to travel or not). They would use the first verse of poetry their eyes would fall upon as indication or a sign as to how to proceed.

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