The Prophetic Balance: Showing Compassion While Being Firm

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

“We need the Prophetic balance. We need to show our children mercy, compassion and affection. Many people are deficient in this regard. At the same time, we need to be firm and follow our guide, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. No-one can be compared to him in the mercy and affection he showed to children generally and to al-Hasan and al-Husayn specifically. However, when al-Hasan began eating a date that had been given in zakat (and thus was unlawful for the members of the Prophet’s family to eat), the Prophet forcibly removed it from his mouth. He did not say: “He is only a young child and it is only one date”. He showed compassion while at the same time being firm.

 

Do Your Sins Cut You Off From Allah?

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

Do your sins cut you off from Allah?

Your sins cut you off from Allah when you are content to let yourself commit them and refuse to leave them. If, however, you feel remorse and have a sincere resolve to leave them they do not cut you off.

Blessed Forms of Istighfar

The following formulas have been mentioned by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him) and contain great benefit:

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِما يَعْلَمُهُ الله أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ كَما يُحِبُّهُ الله

Astaghfirullah lima ya`lamuhu Allah, Astaghfirullah kama yuhibbuhu-llah

I seek the forgiveness of Allah for everything that He knows; I seek Allah’s forgiveness in the way that He loves. Continue reading Blessed Forms of Istighfar

Balancing Between Consistency in Performing Good Deeds and Seizing Opportunities to Do More

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

The pious say that the seeker should perform good deeds whenever the opportunity arises. How can we balance between this and the hadith that the most beloved of actions are those that are consistent even if they are a little?

You need to set yourself a minimum amount of good deeds which you never leave. It should be small enough for you to be consistent in performing it while not preventing you from performing other good deeds when the opportunity arises. As Imam al-Haddad said: “Appoint for yourself a fixed amount which you are able to perform consistently. When you feel energetic you can do more but when you feel lazy you do not permit yourself to do less.”

On Making Up Awrad

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

I have a routine of praying tahajjud, reciting the Qur’an and adhkar before Fajr. If I wake up late and am unable to do all of these things what should I do?

You should do a little bit of everything: pray a few units of tahajjud, recite some Qur’an and recite some of the adhkar. Then you should make up whatever you missed between sunrise and midday. The Prophet ﷺ said that if someone oversleeps and fails to perform the prayers that he regularly performs at night but then makes them up between sunrise and midday it will be recorded for him as if he prayed it at night.

On Signs of Acceptance

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

What are the signs that your acts of obedience have been accepted?

The signs of acceptance are that you increase in three things: brokenness in front of Allah, the desire to perform good deeds and aversion to disobedience.