Worship – Muwasala

Imam Hasan, son of Imam al-Haddad, and the Effect of Hajj

Imam Hasan, the son of Imam Abdullah bin Alawi al-Haddad was a seeker, a person of piety and a scholar who acted according to his knowledge. Imam al-Haddad, however, was waiting for him to reach higher levels. He said: “When that son of mine performs hajj something will be ingrained in him which was not in him before.”

So he went to perform hajj and implemented all the sunnahs, exerted great caution and effort until the hajj had its effect upon him. Then he returned to Hadramawt and became a paragon of renunciation of worldly things (zuhd).

They told him that part of his house was falling and it needed to be repaired (houses in Hadramawt are built from mud bricks and require regular repair) but he replied that he did not need that part of the house and life was short.

He focused on teaching and preparing for the next life until one half of the house caved in. He said: “The other half of the house is sufficient.” He carried on in this way until only one room of the house was left standing. When people criticised him, he replied with a verse of poetry:

يقولون بيتك بيت صغير كأن نسجته لك العنكبوت

فقلت المقام قليل به وهذا كثير على من يموت

They say your house is so small it could have been woven by a spider!

I say to them I will not live long in it and it is plenty big enough for someone who is sure to die

This is the exact opposite of what hajj does to some people. They go to hajj and they have some humility but they return with more desire and concern for worldly things. This would be a sign that their hajj has not been accepted and we seek Allah’s refuge from that.

The whole purpose of hajj is to draw us closer to Allah, the King, the Living and that we see things as they truly are.

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

The Best Prayer is the Prayer of Arafah

The Prophet ﷺ said: “The best prayer is the prayer of the Day of Arafah. The best thing which I and the Prophets before me have said is:

لاَ إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَ لَهُ الْحَمْدُ يُحْيُي و يُمِيت وَ هُوَ حَيٌّ لا يَموتُ بِيَدِهِ الخَيْرُ و هَو عَلَى كُلِّ شَيءٍ قَدِيرٍ

La ilaha ill’Allahu wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahu’l-mulku wa lahu’l-hamdu yuhi wa yumit wa huwa hayyun la yamut bi yadihi’-khayr wa `ala kulli shayin qadir

“There is no deity save Allah alone. He has no partners. To Him belongs the dominion and all praise. He brings life and brings death and He is the Living Who never dies. To Him belongs all good. He has power over all things.”

The Prophet ﷺ called it a prayer (dua) but where is the request? What is the person actually asking for when he says it?

The reality is all requests are contained in it if you are connected to its meaning and realise its implications.

If you say it with realisation, your Lord gazes upon you and all requests made to Him by anyone in the past and the future are insignificant compared to what He then gives you.

The believers should repeat it on the Day of Arafah whether they are performing hajj or not.

Saying it removes darkness from you until you become pure light. It removes the darkness of witnessing created things by affirming to Whom truly belongs the dominion and the power to give life and death.

Can you then have hope in other than Him, fear other than Him or rely on other than Him? No!

May Allah enable us to realise these realities.

May He bless us on the Day of Arafat such that the forces of disbelief, misguidance, corruption and deviance are stopped in their tracks. May the banners of Muhammad be unfurled in every place so that the promised time soon comes in which la ilaha ill’Allah enters every single house.

Maintaining Our Connection to the Quran on Eid

Try to recite a portion of the Quran on Eid.

If you do this on the day of Eid and the next day and the day after you will maintain the connection you made with the speech of Allah during Ramadan. The comfort you felt and the ease with which you recited it will continue throughout the year. You will not fall into the darkness of abandoning the Quran.

The more you are distracted with Eid, however, the harder it will be to return to the Qur’an. The soul is slow to become accustomed to doing good but fast to become accustomed to leaving it.

O Allah, make us among the people of the Quran. Do not make us among those who the Prophet ﷺ complained about to his Lord. Allah then revealed: The Messenger cried out: “Lord, my people had abandoned this Quran.” (25:30)

Habib Ali al-Jifri (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)

Can I ask to be the Renewer (Mujaddid) of this Time?

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

Can I ask Allah to make me the renewer (mujaddid) of this time?

Allah has guaranteed that He will continue to renew the religion in people’s hearts and He uses various means to realise this. There will generally be one principle figure who is like the head. He is supported by others who make up the rest of the body. We should ask Allah to be among those who are involved in this renewal.

On Tasting the Sweetness of Worship

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

How can I taste the sweetness of worship?

Not tasting the sweetness of worship is mainly due to the heart not being fully focused on Allah and being preoccupied by other than Allah. It may also be due to a veil in the heart such as pride or hatred for someone. By standing at Allah’s door and attempting to purify your heart, you will no doubt taste the sweetness of worship. `Utbah al-Ghulam said: “I forced myself to perform the night vigil prayer for twenty years until I tasted its sweetness.”

Obedience of the Heart

Habib Ali al-Habashi (may Allah have mercy upon him and benefit us by him) teaches us to seek for our hearts to be in the highest of states. Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz recommends reciting this awesome supplication regularly:

اللَّهُمَّ أَوْصِلْنِي إِلى حَالةٍ لا يَعْمَلُ فِيها قَلْبِي مخُالَفَةً ، ولا يَهَمُّ بِها

ولا تُقَارِفُ فيها جَوارِحِي مَعْصِيةً

وبَلِّغْني إلى مَقامٍ لا يَفْتُرُ فِيهِ قَلْبِي عَنْ طَاعَةٍ لَكَ ، مَرْضِيِّةً لَدَيْكَ ، مَقْبولَةً عِنْدَكَ

ولا تَنْفَكُّ جَوارِحي فِيهِ عَنْ عَمَلٍ صَالِحٍ خَالِصٍ لِوَجْهِكَ ، مَقْبولٍ لَدَيْكَ يا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمين

‘O Allah, raise me to a state in which my heart does not commit any acts of disobedience, or even thinks of doing so, and to a state in which my body parts do not commit any acts of disobedience. Raise me to a station in which my heart remains constantly in acts of obedience to You, which are pleasing to You and accepted by You; enable my body to continue to perform pious actions sincerely for your sake which are accepted by You, O Most Merciful.’

Should I Recite Awrad if I Have Prayers to Make Up?

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

Should I recite awrad if I have prayers to make up?

There is a difference of opinion regarding this but the best course of action is to gradually make up your prayers and to take the position that it is permissible to recite the awrad and pray supererogatory prayers at the same time.

Intentions for Establishing an Institute

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

We are establishing an institute for Qur’an memorisation and teaching Arabic. What intentions should we make in doing so?

You should intend: to elevate the word of Allah; to support the cause of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ according to the methodology of his pure inheritors; to be a means for the downpour of Allah’s mercy, warding off evil and allowing the light of guidance reach people’s hearts; to serve the Three Objectives (knowledge (`ilm), spiritual wayfaring (suluk) and calling to Allah (da`wah); to connect to the Qur’an and its secrets and to the one to whom the Qur’an was revealed ﷺ and to open up the meanings and understanding of the Qur’an and the speech of the Prophet ﷺ through the Arabic language. You should also intend what the pious intended, what Qutb al-Zaman intended and all good intentions which are in Allah’s knowledge.

If Allah blesses a single seed it becomes many seeds: The parable of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is as the parable of a grain growing seven ears (with) a hundred grains in every ear; and Allah multiplies for whom He pleases; and Allah is Ample-Giving, All-Knowing (al-Baqarah, 2:261).

Habib Muhammad al-Haddar made many great intentions when he founded his Ribat (learning institute) in al-Bayda. As a result, someone saw his father in a dream who told him to tell Habib Muhammad that as soon as he built the Ribat those who were being punished in their graves in the local graveyard were no longer punished.

Spending to Please the Prophet ﷺ

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

I have a small amount of money which I wish to spend in charity. How can I spend it in a way which is most pleasing to the Prophet ﷺ ?

Firstly, if there is someone locally who is in dire need then giving the money to him or her will please the Prophet ﷺ the most. Then if there is a general need which is extremely pressing, such as building a mosque or digging a well, then priority should be given to this.

If there are a number of different causes and the need is equal, then priority should be given to supporting the spreading of knowledge and calling people to Allah.

If there are a number of different people whose need is equal then priority should be given to those who are more pious and closer to the Prophet ﷺ .

Is it Permissible for a Male Teacher to Teach a Woman the Qur’an?

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

Is it permissible for a male teacher to teach a woman the Qur’an?

This is permissible if the male teacher teaches from behind a veil and as long as the two are not alone together. It has been narrated that: “A man must never be alone with a woman even if he is teaching her the Qur’an and even if she is Maryam bint `Imran.” The Companions would take knowledge from the wives of the Prophet, the Mothers of the Believers from behind a veil.