Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem
When Hadhrat Ibraheem (Alaihis Salaam) completed the reconstruction of the Ka’bah Sharief, he made Dua to Allah Ta’ala for acceptance, and also made the Dua:
رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيْهِمْ رَسُولًا
مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُوْا عَلَيْهِمْ اٰيٰتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتٰبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ
وَيُزَكِّيْهِمْ ط
إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيْزُ الْحَكِيْمُ
“Our Lord, and send among them a Messenger
from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and
wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise."
[Surah Al-Baqarah 2 :
129]
From this Dua of Nabi
Ibraheem (Alaihis Salaam) we learn the syllabus of Rasulullah Sallallaahu
‘alaihi wasallam. This comprised of:
1.) يَتْلُوْا
عَلَيْهِمْ اٰيٰتِكَ (Recite to them Your verses).
This signifies the
teaching of the Qur’aan Sharief.
Alhamdulillah, today, this is found in our
primary Madaaris or Makaatib where the Qur’aan Sharief and its rules of
recitation are taught.
2.) وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ
الْكِتٰبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ (Teach them the Book and Wisdom).
This refers to the
comprehensive teaching of the Qur’aan Sharief and the Sunnah. This knowledge is
acquired from our Darul Ulooms where the sciences of Tafsier, Hadith, Fiqh, etc. are imparted in great detail and depth.
3.) وَيُزَكِّيْهِمْ
(Purify them)
This is the
department of Tazkiyah which is the purification of the heart and soul from
every kind of evil and sin.
Alhamdulillah, most of us have
fulfilled the first two departments of learning but have not given
consideration to the third. We tend to be satisfied with two thirds of the
mission of Rasulullah Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam and do not attach
importance to the third department; whereas Tazkiyah is extremely important. It is success of both
worlds.
Allah Ta’ala states:
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكّٰهَا
“Indeed he
succeeds who purifies his ownself.”
[Surah Ash-Shams 91 : 9 ]
During a visit to Sri
Lanka, I met an Aalim, Maulana Ismail. In our conversation, I mentioned the purpose
of our trip, presenting an example. I said:
“If an Imam, whilst leading the
Salaah, recites the verse:
رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيْهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ
يَتْلُوْا عَلَيْهِمْ اٰيٰتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتٰبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ
وَيُزَكِّيْهِمْ ط إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيْزُ الْحَكِيْمُ
[“Our Lord, and send among them a Messenger
from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and
wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise."]
[Surah Al-Baqarah 2 :
129]
but he leaves out the words: وَيُزَكِّيْهِمْ (purify them), he will be
given Luqma (i.e. he will be corrected).
Similarly, this visit to Sri
Lanka is to give Luqma. Generally, we have left out the practical side of وَيُزَكِّيْهِمْ .
Alhamdulillah,
we attended Maktab where we learnt to recite the Qur’aan Sharief. We also completed
the course at the Darul Uloom, but we
left out Tazkiyah and jumped to Imamat, teaching, etc.
Just as the Ayah will not be
complete if a word is left out, so the purpose and objective of our worldly life will
not be complete without Tazkiyah. Our efforts in the service of Dien will also be incomplete and deficient.
Alhamdulillah, Maulana appreciated the point made and the great need to give attention to this
branch of Tazkiyah.
Even though one has qualified
and possesses the knowledge of Dien, there is a great need to rectify oneself
spiritually and develop the reality of Ilm.
Sheikhul Hadith, Hadhrat Moulana
Muhammad Zakariyyah (Rahmatullah ‘alayh) related
in his Fazaa’il-e-Sadaqaat, the distinguishing signs of the
Ulama-e-Rabbaniyyeen as conveyed by Imam Ghazali (Rahmatullah ‘alayh) in his Ihya. One outstanding sign
of a true Aalim is his interest and concern regarding this field of Tazkiyah
and the effort to purify his heart.
There is well-known
incident which was related by some person – perhaps in humour – but it
offers us a lesson.
A person was to undergo
an operation. When taken into theatre, he became very nervous and agitated. The
doctor asked him: “What is wrong?”
He replied: “This is the first operation in my life and
I have a wife and young children. I am anxious about the outcome of this
operation. What if I do not survive the operation?”
The doctor, in trying to
console him, said: “Don’t worry my
friend; this is also the first time that I will be operating on someone.”
What will be the
condition of that patient?
If a doctor does not do
housemanship; he has no training; then despite studying medical textbooks, he
will not be able to carry out any surgery. Even with distinctions in theory, there
are many conditions to be met before the scalpel can be used…
In the same vein, if an
Aalim passed his subjects with distinctions but did not give time to train under
the guidance and supervision of a Sheikh, he will be a danger.
The Ulama are spiritual
doctors and surgeons. People come to the Ulama for guidance and advice; for
solutions to their problems. How can
we be successful in our field and truly benefit the people if we have not
learnt the skill of operating on spiritual hearts?
Most of us are operating
without practically learning how to. In
fact, often, our own spiritual health is in need of attention; of medication.
Sometimes, our own hearts require an operation so that we are cured of the
cancer of Takabbur (pride), Ujub (conceit/vanity), Riyaa (show/ostentation),
Hasad (jealousy), Hubbud Dunya (love for the world), and sins such as lustful
gazes, lies, evil thoughts, gheebat, etc.
We all recognise these
sins because we have knowledge of them. We even read their remedies and
prescriptions in the Qur’aan Sharief and Sunnah, yet Allah Ta’ala has kept Tazkiyah as a separate department in Dien. And it is a fact that for
many, despite having indepth knowledge, there is still difficulty in
practising on that Ilm.
Just as we learnt to read
the Qur’aan Sharief and we studied the Qur’aan Sharief and Sunnah under the
guidance and supervision of our Asaatiza – who are experts in their respective
fields, so we will have to do our Tazkiyah under the guidance of a mentor, who
has mastered this particular field of Tazkiyah and Islaah. And this too is on
the Command of Allah Ta’ala:
يٰٓأَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللهَ وَكُوْنُوْا
مَعَ الصّٰدِقِيْنَ
“O You who Believe, Fear Allah and
join the company of the Truthful ones (the pious, the Auliya Allah).”
[Surah Taubah 9 : 119]
Our Sheikh, Hadhrat
Moulana Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar Sahib (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) had explained that
we should remain with them until we become like them – that is, take from them
the reality of Dien – the Akhlaaq, Ibaadaat, Mu’aasharaat, etc. which is in
complete conformity with the Sunnah of Rasulullah Sallallaahu ‘alaihi
wasallam.
Islaah and Tazkiyah
cannot be stressed enough. Without spiritually rectifying ourselves, we cannot
move forward.
Hadhrat Mufti Muhammad
Hasan Sahib Amritsari (Rahmatullah ‘alayh) set a very noble example of an
Aalim who understood the need for purification of the heart and soul, and his
sincerity in undertaking this route to rectify himself. He was one of the
senior Khulafa of Hadhrat Moulana Ashraf
Ali Thanwi (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh).
When Hadhrat Mufti
Amritsari (Rahmatullah ‘alayh) requested Hadhrat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi
(Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) to accept him for Bay’at, Hadhrat Moulana Thanwi (Rahmatullah
‘alayh) stipulated four conditions:
1. Repeat your Daurah Hadith
because you studied the final year of your Aalim course in an Ahle-Hadith
Madrasah.
2. Correct your Tajweed.
3. Obtain a NOC (No Objection
Certificate) from your wife; that she certifies that you treat her well and keep
her happy.
4. Write 40 letters requesting
your Islaah to be made.
Since Hadhrat Mufti Amritsari
(Rahmatullah ‘alayh) was sincere in his quest, he repeated his final year
studies at Darul Uloom Deoband. He studied Tajweed from a student of his and obtained
a certificate from him, and fulfilled the remaining conditions.
On this humility and labour of cleaning the heart, Allah Ta’ala opens up
all doors of goodness.
On one occasion, Hadhrat
Moulana Maseehullah (Rahmatullah ‘alayh) visited Sheikhul Hadith, Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Zakariyyah (Rahmatullah ‘alayh) in Saharanpur. Hadhrat Sheikh (Rahmatullah ‘alayh) requested for all who were with him to allow him some time alone with
Hadhrat Moulana Maseehullah (Rahmatullah ‘alayh).
When both were alone,
Hadhrat Sheikh (Rahmatullah ‘alayh) began to cry profusely. On
enquiring the reason, Hadhrat Sheikh (Rahmatullah ‘alayh) replied: “Students are graduating yet
they do not make their Islaah. They are the ones who are entrusted with the
great responsibility of passing the Dien to others. However, they do not have Dien
in their own lives. …What will be the condition of the Ummah?”
This was the concern of our
Akaabir – because this knowledge of Dien is a great, great Amaanat (trust) and responsibility. We
will be questioned about our knowledge and how we acted upon it.
‘[On the Day of Judgment], the feet of a person will not
move until he is asked regarding:
1.)
His life; how did he spend
it,
2.)
His knowledge; how did he act upon it,
3.)
His wealth; how did he
acquire it (and)
4.)
How did he spend it, and
5.) His body, how did he
use it.’[1]
Alhamdulillah, a lot of
Khidmat of Dien is being rendered throughout the world and may Allah Ta’ala
increase all these noble efforts. However, there is a need for Tazkiyah and
Islaah. Takabbur, Ujub, Riyaa, love for name, fame and titles, love for dunya,
etc. creep into the greatest of works and then render them defective or null
and void.
May Allah Ta’ala forgive
us and protect us. May Allah Ta’ala
grant us the concern and the Taufeeq to undertake this process of Islaah and
Tazkiyah and grant us the success of both worlds.
~ Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Hamid Is`haq Sahib (Daamat Barakaatuhum)
[1] Tirmidhi
