Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem
By Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Hamid Is`haq Saheb (Daamat Barakaatuhum)
In
his quest for living a comfortable life, man has invented numerous gadgets of
convenience. There is the cell-phone, stove, microwave, iron,
kettle, toaster, dishwasher, washing machine, and so much else.
Our
cars are to take us to places in less time, to give us more time. Planes are to deliver us to distant lands in
short periods of time, compared to travel by land or sea. Buses, trains and
other conveyances also serve to make easier
our traveling, compared to walking from place to place, which is time-consuming
if there are a number of kilometres to cover.
The
dishwasher is to lessen our burden of washing dishes and give us free time; the
washing machine is to ease our burden of washing clothes and give us more free
time, modern cooking appliances are to lighten our burden and give us even more
free time – but alas, despite all the means, we still complain that we don’t
have sufficient time!
Man
sees the need for the washing machine, the dishwasher, the vacuum cleaner, for
laundry services, pool services, maintenance of his home, etc. – and he also sees
the need for his own outward cleanliness and neatness, as well as for his
health and well-being.
He
has regular check-ups with his doctor, he frequents the gymnasiums and gives
time for all kinds of exercises and therapies – all of which is for his physical
body. He now even markets organic foods at high prices – for his well-being and
good health. Added to this, women – and nowadays even men – spend endless hours
at salons and beauticians, wanting to improve their physical beauty. Time and
money is spent to look beautiful.
So
man pays attention to so much relating to his environment and himself, but he
neglects the most important part of himself - his soul! ...Sadly, he does not consider the need to wash his heart and to
wash his soul! And yet, both need to be washed, and both require constant
cleaning and polishing. Both need to be beautified. Both need maintenance,
upkeep and care!
…Each
one of us has a soul (ruh) and an ego (nafs). The stronger one rules. If we
feed the nafs by satisfying its evil demands and fulfilling its evil desires, and
we starve our souls of obedience to Allah Ta’ala, the nafs becomes strong and
tough and lively. The soul naturally becomes weak and feeble and frail.
On
the other hand, if we feed the soul, by obeying Allah Ta’ala, by working
righteousness and suppressing the evil desires of the nafs, the soul will gain
in strength and will be able to easily overpower the nafs.
If
we establish our connection with Allah Ta’ala, then we have Allah Ta’ala’s assistance and help
with us, against nafs and its partner in crime, shaytaan. Without Allah
Ta’ala’s help, nothing can be achieved. We are entirely dependent on Him.
وَمَا تَوْفِيقِىْٓ
إِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ
“…And my ability to do things comes from none except Allah…”
[Surah
Hud 11 : 88]
With
Allah Ta’ala on our side, goodness will definitely follow.
If
we allow nafs and shaytaan to be in control, then the consequences are
frightening – to say the least. Like a car out of control, wreaking havoc and devastation,
the person will commit the worst of sins, causing spiritual disaster and
devastation. May Allah Ta’ala protect us all.
For the soul to become
dominant, an effort needs to be made on the heart of man. If the heart is sound
and the soul is strong, and the actions are corrected, then the journey to the Hereafter will be traversed following the path
to Jannah and not those paths that lead away from Jannah.
Rasulullah
(Sallallaahu ‘alayhi waSallam) said: “There
is a piece of flesh in the body, if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body
becomes good but if it gets corrupted, the whole body gets corrupted – and that is
the heart.” ~ Sahih Bukhari
The
following analogy came to mind, with Allah Ta’ala’s Fadhl, having read an
advertisement by a Laundromat, and contemplating how Laundromats have mushroomed
all over, and the great demand for out-sourcing dirty clothes and linen… to the
extent that companies even collect dirty laundry for people, saving them even
more time. Besides the washing of clothing, clothes are dried, ironed and
folded and can even be delivered back to one’s home, sometimes on the very same day.
Obviously at a cost.
Whilst
people employ the services of a company to do their laundry, we also find that
hospitals, prisons, hotels and other institutions sometimes have their own
laundry facility. Everywhere, we find people establishing some kind of system
to keep their clothing, linen, uniforms, etc. clean.
Alhamdulillah,
in Islam, Allah Ta’ala has established a service where hearts are washed and
cleaned. And it is a service which is free of charge!
One
of the duties of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) was the purification of
the hearts and souls.
“It is He who has sent among
the unlettered a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and
purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom - although they were before
in clear error.”
[Surah
Al-Jumu`ah 62 : 2]
Like
the work and Khidmat of teaching the Qur`aan Sharief and the Sunnah continued
and will continue, until Qiyaamah, so too will this work of purifying the
hearts and souls of people.
We
have the Darul Ulooms that have become the means and medium for teaching the
Qur`aan Sharief and Sunnah, and we have the Makaatib and other works, whereby
the knowledge of Dien is also disseminated. Similarly, we have the Khanqahs and this is that facility whereby the
heart and soul are purified. Alhamdulillah.
The
analogy that came to mind was that a Khanqah can be likened to a laundromat,
and the Sheikh can be likened to a washer-man or the operator at the laundromat.
The Mureeds are like the dirty clothing and linen that comes in, to be washed.
- When clothing items and linen are sent to a laundromat, then there are
different stages that the items go through: The washing, processing and packaging stage.
Similarly,
there are different stages to go through, for mureeds who enter the Khanqah for
the purpose of purification.
- The general procedure is that the items are collected or they are
dropped off at some laundromat.
The
general procedure to clean the heart is that the mureed makes himself available
and gives his time to keeping company with the Sheikh. If he does so with
sincerity and he hands himself over for Tazkiyyah and Islaah, he will benefit
greatly, Insha-Allah.
- Laundromats advertise that each order is handled with care.
In
the Khanqah, each mureed is handled with far more care, because it is his heart
and his soul that have been handed over for washing and cleaning – not his
clothes.
- A person will be selective of which Laundromat he will hand his clothes
and linen over to, for cleaning. Naturally, a person would consider a
Laundromat that is well-established, reliable and offers excellent service –
because his clothing costs money and he is spending more money to wash and
clean them.
A
mureed should be more selective of where and to whom he will be handing over
his heart, for washing and cleaning. The Sheikh must be known for his piety, learning, and
experience. He must be one who is acknowledged by the Ulama-e-Haq. ...Otherwise,
there are many who are frauds and out to just make easy money by trapping
gullible seekers. So care and caution needs to be exercised in regard to who
the heart is entrusted to, for Tazkiyyah.
- At the Laundromat, the items are sorted out according to their type.
Different items require a different programme for washing. Some may be heavily
soiled and stained; others may be fine and delicate and others may be large and
heavy items such as blankets. As such, the process of sorting out clothes is
required.
Those clothing items that are heavily soiled – and they may even have
blood and faeces and urine, require a longer wash, a more intense programme,
and stronger detergents.
In a
similar vein, those hearts which are heavily soiled with major sins and evil
desires and passions, will require more time and a more intense programme for
purification. Others come with minor sins and weaknesses and can be washed
quickly and easily.
Like
how Laundromats check pockets for unwanted items and inspect for stains, so the
Sheikh analyses his mureed – checking his walk, talk, interaction with others,
his Ibaadah, and so forth, so that the process of Tazkiyyah and Islaah, the
process of cleaning and reforming can commence and can be carried out properly,
and so that the heavy stains on the heart can be treated like how stained
clothing and linen is treated with a stain-remover.
If
the Sheikh is informed of the sins that the mureed is secretly engaging in, or
does not want to give up or cannot seem to give up, this makes the cleaning
process easier. The Sheikh will choose a suitable spiritual stain remover and detergent,
by prescribing Taubah and Istighfaar, some Azkaar, etc. and will also offer
guidance in respect to getting out of the habit of sinning.
Just
as garments are separated and treated differently, depending on the type of
fabric, the degree of dirt, etc. so mureeds are treated differently. Each one
has a different temperament, different weaknesses and different strengths. The
Sheikh takes all these aspects into consideration, before choosing a method of
Islaah, or giving a prescription for Islaah. Allah Ta’ala guides the Shaykh to
what is suitable for each Mureed.
- After sorting out the laundry, the laundry goes in for washing. An
operator loads the machine and the process of washing commences: The clothing
is soaked, and then goes through the programme of wash and rinse, etc. As the
washing machine turns, it tosses the clothes so that the dirt can be easily
removed; it washes and rinses and subjects the clothing to heavy spins.
In
following the prescriptions and the advices of the Sheikh, the mureed will find
some treatments tough on his nafs and some to be gentle and mild. He will
experience the wash and rinse and the spin of his spiritual heart.
The mureed who wants to sincerely
complete the process and wants a clean heart, will be patient in following
through with all that is prescribed.
After
the washing stage, the clean clothes are dried, then ironed and folded.
During
the stage of drying, the linen is exposed to heat that evaporates the
moisture. Steam-heated rollers are used
to also dry the linen and press out wrinkles, like how irons do. The linen is then neatly
folded.
Together
with the cleaning process, the Mureed is subjected to training his nafs and
increasing in his good deeds, in improving his Salaah, and other Ibaadaat. The
wrinkles of insincerity and other weaknesses are pressed out of the heart.
If
too much of heat is applied to iron out all creases, the clothing may get burnt.
Similarly, in this process of Islaah, the Sheikh-e-Kaamil will not be too hard
on his Mureeds. Like the cloth that can be burnt, so the mureed can be
destroyed if the Sheikh is harsh and hard and creates disillusionment and
despondency in the mureed.
After
completing the different stages, the mureed will find that ghairullah is
removed from his heart, the Love of Allah Ta'ala fills his heart beautifies his heart.
We
find that some clothing items are even fragranced. ...In the Khanqah, the heart is
fragranced with Zikrullah and Durood Sharief.
- Having gone through the entire process, the linen is packaged and kept
for the customer to collect. Some clothing
items are packed individually in plastic wrapping, and hung up, waiting to be
collected – and these are, as if, ‘show cased’.
When
the Mureed completes the process of purification, reformation, he becomes
worthy of being ‘show-cased’. He becomes a role-model for others.
This
end result is for those Mureeds who hand themselves over for washing. Those who
stay out, who do not get involved practically, and just watch the washing
process, won't get cleaned themselves.
Just as a
laundromat is a facility where people get their laundry done quickly,
efficiently and with great convenience, so the khanqah, which is run under the
auspices of a Sheikh-e-Kaamil, is a facility where Saalikeen get their hearts washed and cleaned – efficiently and with convenience.
May
Allah Ta’ala grant us the understanding and the Taufeeq of going this route of
Tazkiyyah and Islaah, that we may reach the Court of Allah Ta’ala, with clean
hearts and are received by Allah Ta’ala, with His Pleasure.
