EVALUATING YOUR PREPARATION FOR HAJJ

courtesy amazon islam pictures

1. EVALUATE WHERE YOU ARE NOW:

• WHAT IS THE STATE OF YOUR IMAAN?
• WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF YOUR SALAH?
• WHAT IS THE ACCURACY OF YOUR WUDU AND SALAH?
• WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS FOR GOING TO HAJJ?
• WHAT IS THE DEGREE OF YOUR DESIRE FOR HAJJ E MABROOR?

II            EVALUATE YOUR DESIRES:

• WHAT DO YOU WORRY ABOUT LEAVING BEHIND?
• WHAT BODILY DISCOMFORTS DO YOUR WORRY ABOUT?
• WHAT OTHER THINGS DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR PLAN WITH HAJJ?
• HOW MUCH ARE YOU WILLING TO CHANGE?

III            EVALUATE YOUR SPIRITUAL PREPARATION

• HOW OFTEN ARE YOU RECITING THE QURAN?
• ARE YOU READING THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET?
• HAVE YOU READ YOUR HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF MECCA AND MEDINA AND WHAT HAPPENED WHERE?
• HAVE YOU SUBMITTED YOUR SPIRIT TO ALLAH AND ENTREATED HIM TO INVITE YOU FOR HAJJ?
• HAVE YOU READ THE DESCRIPTION OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD’S HAJJ AND LAST SPEECH AT ARAFAH?

IV            EVALUATE YOUR PHYSICAL PREPARATION

• ARE YOU EXERCISING YOUR BODY TO BUILD STAMINA FOR IBADAH?
• ARE YOU EXERCISING YOUR MUJAHIDA TO CONTROL YOUR NAFS (LESS EATING, LESS SLEEPING, LESS TALKING, LESS SOCIALIZING)
• ARE YOU DOING ANY NAFIL FASTS ON MONDAY AND/OR THURSDAYS TO BUILD YOUR INNER SPIRITUALITY AND CONTROL YOUR NAFS
• HAVE YOU PRACTICED TO FOCUS ON PRAYER AND RECITATION WHILE IN A NOISY ATMOSPHERE?

V            EVALUATE YOUR EDUCATIONAL PREPARATION

*            HAVE YOU STUDIED AND IMPROVED ON YOUR NAMAAZ E NABVI?

*            HAVE YOU LEARNED TO PRAY NAMAZ E JANAZAH?

*            DO YOU KNOW HOW TO PRAY NAMAZ E TASBEEH (OPTIONAL)

*            HAVE YOU MEMORIZED EXTRA SURAHS TO RECITE IN PRAYER IN THE HARAMAIN?

*            DO YOU KNOW HOW TO PRAY QAZA E UMARI?

*         HAVE YOU FAMILIARIZED YOURSELF WITH THE MANASAK OF THE HAJJ?

*            DO YOU KNOW WHAT INVALIDATES THE HAJJ?

*            DO YOU KNOW WHAT MANASAK CAN BE MADE UP AND WHICH CANNOT?

*            HAVE YOU MADE A LIST OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE ASKED YOU TO PRAY FOR THEM

*            HAVE YOU MADE A LIST OF WHAT YOU WANT TO PRAY FOR?

*      DO YOU KNOW THE THIRD KALIMA, RABBANA ATAIYNA FID DUNYA AND THE DUA FOR SAFA AND MARWAH?

*            ARE YOU MEMORIZING A NEW DUA EACH DAY THAT YOU WANT TO ASK ALLAH FOR (MASNOON OR FROM THE QURAN?)

• ARE YOU PRACTICING PATIENCE NOW?
• ARE YOU PRACTICING WEARING HIJAB AND PROPER CLOTHES FOR PRAYER?
• ARE YOU PRACTICING PRAYING EACH PRAYER ON TIME?
• ARE YOU PRACTICING SPENDING TIME IN RECITATION OF THE QURAN AND/OR HADITH?

VI            EVALUATE YOUR LOGISTICAL PREPARATION

• DO YOU HAVE COMFORTABLE, WASHABLE CLOTHES THAT DO NOT REQUIRE EXTRA CARE AND WHICH COVER THE AWRAH?
• DO YOU HAVE TOILETRIES WITH NO FRAGRANCE?
• DO YOU HAVE A SLEEPING BAG FOR ARAFAH AND MUZDALIFA?
• DO YOU HAVE A SMALL SEPARATE BAG FOR MINA?
• DO YOU HAVE A SMALL BACK BAG FOR SHOES, OR READING MATERIAL AND A WATER BOTTLE, WHILE IN TAWAF OR SAAII?
• HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE MAP OF THE LAYOUT OF THE KAABA AND KNOW THE NAMES OF THE DOORS?
• DO YOU HAVE A LIST (FOR YOURSELF AND GIFTS) OF WHAT YOU WANT TO BUY AT HAJJ?
• DO YOU HAVE A COPY OF YOUR PASSPORT AND DOCUMENTS IN A PLASTIC BAG OR COVER TO TAKE WITH YOU?
• DO YOU KNOW THE CONVERSION RATE FROM DOLLARS TO SAUDI RIYAL?
• HAVE YOU DISCUSSED WITH YOUR MAHRAM, YOUR EXPECTATIONS AND HIS?
• HAVE YOU SHARED YOUR PREPARATIONS WITH HIM?
• HAVE YOU MADE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE PEOPLE YOU ARE LEAVING BEHIND?
• DO YOU HAVE A WILL?
• DO YOUR CHILDREN HAVE GUARDIANS IN EVENT OF AN UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCE
• HAVE YOU MADE A LIST OF PEOPLE YOU NEED TO APPROACH TO ASK FOR FORGIVENESS OR GIVE FORGIVENESS?
• HAVE YOU PAID YOUR DEBTS THAT ARE DUE?
• WHO IS YOUR BUDDY WHILE IN THE HARAM (IT IS NOT POSSIBLE MOST OF THE TIME FOR YOUR MAHRAM TO BE YOUR BUDDY AS THE MEN AND WOMEN ARE SEPARATED AFTER TAWAF AND SOMETIMES IN TAWAF.

Inshallah you will do well, even if you are not perfectly prepared, but try and be as prepared as possible, then Hajj becomes the true spiritual journey you have imagined it to be!

WHO IS THE LOVE OF MY HEART?

As the weather cools, and the humid heat lifts from the air, it is replaced by this feeling of endless time, which to me means that fall is settling in.

In my residency days it meant I had to drive out to the old part of town where the leaves of the old oak trees were turning to gold, red and orange……….. my favorite colors.

As the pages of my life turn towards the last third of my life, fall has meant preparation of the children going to college and then the anticipation of their coming back at Thanksgiving.

Unlike other Holidays Thanksgiving at our house was always stress less for me, as Paul makes the turkey and the sides have gotten fewer with the passage of time. Images of people I love, times gone by fill my brain as I reminisce who I was and who I am becoming.

IMAGES……..

Thus it was a wrenching experience at my first retreat on Tazkiyah Nafs where the Shaykh said “in order to fill your heart with Allah Subhanawataala, we have to empty it of other images” and he was not referring to idols.

At that time, not understanding the wisdom if it. I was deeply resentful when I heard that. Did he mean that I had to empty my heart of all those I deeply loved? The very thought was obnoxious and unacceptable.

TRUE LOVE…

As I have studied the concept of the “Love of Allah” I realize that you can only have ”one true love”. Now comes the moment of truth: who is that going to be? Is it going to be a human in the form of a lover, a child, a mother or a profession? Or is it going to be The Divine.

NAFS..

As I have studied, experienced and struggled with challenging my Nafs, I have found it to be a strong adversary. Perhaps sometimes even stronger then Shaytaan. Since Shaytaan is a known quantity and is external it is possible to bar its entry into ones life by remaining vigilant.

However the Nafs is such an intrinsic part of us given to us for survival that if I become careless for even a moment, it fattens up and sits on top of my spiritual endeavors and suffocates my spirituality and my heart.

LOOK WHO IS IN YOUR HEART!

The example used by the Shaykh, which floored me, and left me floundering despite my rationalization, as I found myself “guilty”, was as follows:

He said: “ There is a Sahih Hadith of RasoolAllah peace be upon him, as follows: “Angels (carrying the mercy of Allah) do not enter a house that has images of living things or dogs”

He continued: “and if the Angels (with the Mercy of Allah) do not enter a home with images of living things than how can we expect Allah Subhanawataala to enter our hearts if they are filled with images”.

But…………but, but………a thousand rationalizations flash through my mind, but none of them stand up to this scrutiny of evidence.

RAISING THE BAR…….

After all only one in one thousand believers will enter Jannah. This selection process thus raises the bar, and sifts out the weak and the lazy with or without rationalization………..

The question is where do I stand with this? Am I up to this marathon, which is gearing up, with my Nafs?

……………..And where are you?

STATES OF THE HEART: Surah Yusuf12: 13

LONESOME

TAFSEER BY DR FARHAT HASHMI

Yaqub AS expressed two states of the heart on being asked to release Yusuf AS to his brothers who bode ill of him:

AFTER THE FACT: Huzn (GHAM): A pain in the heart, which is from either loss of a loved one, or a painful happening. This is a state of the heart.

BEFORE THE FACT ABOUT SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE: Khouf is when one has a feeling of sadness in the heart of the possibility of losing a loved one in the future or the possibility of a painful happening

RAMADAN AND THE ROLE OF CONTROLLING THE NAFS

The Green Reef, Belize

In every human heart there are four forces battling for supremacy and dominance. Three of the four are base in nature and the fourth which if empowered is the strongest and the most pure

Nafs has been defined as “self”, “ego “(not freudian), soul, and the inner force that dictates our actions at a subconscious level, translating them to a conscious level eventually by persuasion or force.

There are four components or forces within us, three of which (base) were given to us for survival but not for expansion or elaboration into those dictating our life.

The three base forces come under the umbrella of something that the scholars have identified as Nafs e Ammara.
These three forces are:

The first is Bahemi or cow like whose primary instinct is to eat, sleep, and copulate and is satisfied with these actions.
The second base force is predatory, and this force finds most pleasure in taking other persons property, dominating others and runs on the fuel of getting power and annexing more power.
The third force is Shaytaani, or related to Satan and this force is filled with a mean streak, which enjoys creating discord between two people, two communities, or even two nations.
The fourth force……….. Which is the spiritual force is the also called the angelic Nafs, this is the force that allows us to connect with the Divine.

God Almighty placed these four forces in the heart of our father Adam (AS), our mother Eve, and their progeny.  This was one way to distinguish them from other creatures. They were given a freedom of choice as to which force they wanted to foster the most, by determining what lifestyle they chose.

Thus as Ramadan approaches and Muslims prepare to battle the first three base forces of the Nafs, some succeed and many do not.

Ramadan heightens the awareness of these forces within us. Thus some of us make a concerted effort to overcome the base forces and nurture the Angelic Nafs, while others suffice by restraining from food in the day and filling up at night.

The spirituality of Ramadan lies in reigning in the wild Horse of the Nafs and gently, carefully and consistently nurturing the spiritual force within our hearts. This is best done with prayer, good deeds, consideration of others and turning away from materialism. One specific method of doing so is by actively divesting oneself of money and things that one likes, with no other motive except to please Allah (God)

It is quite a challenge for Muslims to have this inner struggle going on, dedicating time for prayer and remembrance of God, while denying oneself food and drink on very little sleep, in a remarkably secular daily schedule.

If one is successful in controlling the base forces acting upon the heart, then this allows the spiritual Nafs to grow stronger, guiding the heart towards God Almighty.

The reward of a successful Ramadan lies in the heart clarifying itself of the dominance of the base Nafs and its forces and opening up to the spiritual connection with God Almighty.
Thus during Ramadan, one recognizes success if, before, during and in between prayer, the light of His (Almighty’s) beneficence and Mercy floods the heart with happiness despite the physical cravings of hunger and thirst.

In the Quran God Almighty says:” Verily in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest” But that can only happen if the other base forces are restrained and allow the spiritual nafs to seek God and connect for the Barakah or the blessings to flow into the heart.

The month of Ramadan is the practice session for the Olympics of the upcoming eleven months. If the base forces are let loose after Ramadan, they can be fed and fattened to the point that they can sit on the angelic nafs and stifle it thereby cutting off all lines of communication with God Almighty. Thus eating less, sleeping less and remembering God often, in the formal prescribed manner as well as randomly in all forms and manner is the essence of Ramadan. A month of intense training for the rest of the year.

Living in the heat of the south with the long days, short nights and a remarkable lack of ambience for the restraint of the base forces, the fasting Muslim may forget the reason for fasting.  In some instances all he may earn at the end of the day would be an empty stomach and a thirsty tongue.

Although all year long we spend hours choosing foods, tasting and rejecting food, having food fights, and wasting food, Ramadan for Muslims and non Muslims alike is the ideal time to make a concerted effort to control our base instincts and nurture our spiritual force which lies within every human heart.

We will know the success of our endeavors during Ramadan in connecting us with our Creator, if we forget our hunger and feel our heart fill with light and happiness.

EXCLUSIVITY AND DESIGNER GOODS… Surah HUD 25-30

وَلَقَد اَرسَلنَا نُوحًا اِلى قَومِه اِنِّى لَـكُم نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ‏﴿۲۵

اَن لَّا تَعبُدُوا اِلَّا اللّهَ‌ اِنِّى اَخَافُ عَلَيكُم عَذَابَ يَومٍ اَلِيمٍ‏﴿۲۶

فَقَالَ المَلَاُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن قَومِه مَا نَركَ اِلَّا بَشَرًا مِّثلَنَا وَمَا نَركَ اتَّبَعَكَ اِلَّا الَّذِينَ هُم اَرَاذِلُــنَا بَادِىَ الرَّاىِ‌ وَمَا نَرى لَـكُم عَلَينَا مِن فَضلٍ بَلۡ نَظُنُّكُمۡ كذِبِينَ‏﴿۲۷

قَالَ يقَومِ اَرَءَيتُمْ اِن كُنتُ عَلى بَيِّنَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّى وَاتنِى رَحمَةً مِّن عِندِه فَعُمِّيَت عَلَيكُم اَنُلزِمُكُمُوهَا وَاَنـتُم لَـهَا كرِهُونَ‏﴿۲۸

وَيقَومِ لَا اَســَٔلُكُم عَلَيهِ مَالاً‌ اِن اَجرِىَ اِلَّا عَلَى اللّهِ‌ وَمَا اَنَا بِطَارِدِ الَّذِينَ امَنُوا‌ اِنَّهُم مُّلقُوا رَبِّهِم وَلـكِنِّى اَركُم قَومًا تَجهَلُونَ‏﴿۲۹

وَيقَومِ مَن يَّـنصُرُنِى مِنَ اللّهِ اِنطَرَدتُّهُم اَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ‏﴿۳۰

And We sent Noah unto his folk (and he said): Lo! I am a plain warner unto you. (25)

That ye serve none, save Allah. Lo! I fear for you the retribution of a painful Day. (26)

The chieftains of his folk, who disbelieved, said: We see thee but a mortal like us, and we see not that any follow thee save the most abject among us, without reflection. We behold in you no merit above us – nay, we deem you liars. (27)

He said: O my people! Bethink you, if I rely on a clear proof from my Lord and there hath come unto me a mercy from His presence, and it hath been made obscure to you, can we compel you to accept it when ye are averse thereto? (28)

And O my people! I ask of you no wealth therefore. My reward is the concern only of Allah, and I am not going to thrust away those who believe – Lo! they have to meet their Lord! – but I see you a folk that are ignorant. (29)

And, O my people! Who would deliver me from Allah if I thrust them away? Will ye not then reflect? (30)

Background:
In current day, the status of a person is judged by the exclusivity of his overt material manifestation, his clothes, his car, his house, her jewelry etc etc.

The exclusivity of the designer is based on the wallet, the more expensive it becomes the less people have access to it, and therefore it becomes even more exclusive.

People thus get sucked into the cycle of wanting to be exclusive based on their external material possessions.

Are you COOL?

They use it as criteria whether the other person is cool or not. In the western world and now via satellite even the eastern societies are taught via media blitz as to what to wear, how to walk, what to buy for the house, how to do your hair and nails, and what colors are in.

If you are not with what the media blitz is telling you, you are certainly not cool! Or “sophisticated” you may be a “nerd” or just plain old fashioned.

courtesy of:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kansunkea/3462563554/

Tafseer translated from Dr. Farhat Hashmi
In the history of the Prophets from the time of Abraham, the first people to accept God as their one Creator and embrace the monotheistic faith have been the poor, the downtrodden and the oppressed.

Why is that?

Dr. FH explains that it is because layer-by-layer as their material goods are peeled off, they become more in tune to their heart and the connection to Allah Subhanawataala is faster.

When one is not occupied with obtaining and retaining the material trappings of exclusivity, access to Allah Subhanawataala’s message is unimpeded.

The vicious circle of exclusivity

photo courtesy:http://www.flickr.com/photos/7994394@N03/473811434/in/photostream/

Material trappings bought for exclusivity rather than utility, whether that is a car, house, clothes, makeup or jewelry, are time burners.
The time spent in figuring out what is “in” earning the money to buy what is “in”, burning up the time to remain” in” the game of exclusivity is a drain on intellect, time and focus.

Even when one does not have the money, to be exclusive people will struggle by going to sales and taking out loans or buying things in installments, this leaves neither energy, time or the spiritual purity of the heart and mind to connect with Allah Subhanawataala.

Modernizing scriptures and Human Nature
It is ironic to note that though we want to be called “modern” and we want to modernize the Scriptures because they are considered out of date being 1400 years old, it is evident that human nature has not changed as is shown by the response to Noah (AS) by his people.

Exclusion of the poor and oppressed
When Noah (AS) brings the message of Allah to his community, they object to the kinds of people who have accepted his message. They mostly being poor, oppressed, or leading a simple life.
The elite people of the community of Noah actually ask him to cut those people from his circle and only then would they deem it fit to accept his message and sit in his circle.

Who is the Elite with Allah?
He (Noah (AS) of course refuses as he says that I am not asking you for a reward in exchange of your emaan. The elite in the eyes of Allah are those who have emaan in their hearts and those whose hearts are pure from the diseases of the heart such as greed, ostentation, and arrogance.
Surah Shuraa; 26:109: “No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds:
Surah Al Furqan: 25:57: Say: “No reward do I ask of you for it but this: that each one who will may take a (straight) Path to his Lord.”

“These people with emaan whom you want me (Noah AS) to get rid off from my companionship, have a very special position with Allah Subhanawataala.”

Those who are the slaves of ones own desires and ones own opinions dictated by their Nafs they have a barrier against submitting to the One Creator, They find it difficult to let go of ones own desires.
End Tafseer

ACTION POINTS:
1.    Refrain from buying into the media blitz of designer products.

2.    Limit time or better yet turn of the TV which brings you the elite products

3.    Seek the company of diversity based on Taqwa

4.    Pare down time for activities of daily living

5.    Get rid of things, people and hobbies that are high maintenance

6.    Look inside your heart and remove built in biases against poverty, oppression, and color by being with them.

7.    Evaluate your attitude with people who do not have material goods but have taqwa

8.    Evaluate your attitude with people who boast exclusivity of material things

9.    People are attracted to like-minded people, so you will know where you stand by the results of #7 and #8.

10.    Make dua that Allah helps us cleanse our hearts.

Please keep me in your prayers.

HARMONY……….

A spider's sanctuary in a rain storm

“Be in Harmony with Allah’s creatures”

“All those in space, time and earth are in Tasbeeh of Allah Subhanawataala. Thus to be in harmony with them one has to be in Dhikr (tasbeeh) of Allah Subhanawtaala”

Excerpted from the retreat on tazkiyah nafs 09 with Sheikh Mokhtaar Magroubi

ORDERLINESS…………….

“To be orderly is to seek to have Divine characteristics. Allah Subhanawataala is orderly in His creation and the working of His creations is also orderly”

My take on this: Every thing on earth including the movement in the Universe of its components is punctual and orderly.

The sun comes out punctually in a predictable and orderly manner and the day follows, it sets in an orderly fashion and the moon follows……..

There is orderliness in how cells divide for each human and animal and what they become. This orderliness when not followed in quality or quantity becomes a cancer.

The sign of a genuine Muslim is to be orderly in behavior, and actions, and is recognized by his or her trademark:  A Muslim leaves a place in a better condition than he or she found it.

The orderly growth of ferns in the forest

Excerpted from the Retreat on Tazkiyah Nafs 09 with Shaykh Mokhtaar Magroubi (quotes are from the Shaykh)

QURB……………

Qurb is inadequately translated as nearness to Allah, however Qurb has a far more intimate inflection, of being the one who is close to Allah Subhanawataala in many ways and forms.

“Muqarabeen” in the Quran are those who are closest to Allah Subhanawataala.

Qurb is desired, pursued and struggled for by all the Seekers of The Path to Allah, not everyone makes it in their lifetime.

Here is advice for the Seeker of the Path desiring Qurb to Allah………..

Make sure that:

He, Subhanawataala does not find you where He has forbidden you to be
And
He Subhanawataala finds you where He has commanded you to be.

For a beginner like me, my first step is to delineate in my environment what places, people and stimuli qualify for each of the above.

Excerpted from the Retreat on “Tazkiyah Nafs” 2009 with Shaykh Mokhtaar Magroubi

THE TONGUE: AN INSTRUMENT OF DHIKR OR……….

I guess I would now be classified as a retreat veteran and yet when ever I open my notepad with pen poised, what I hear from the Shaykh is never a repetition of before but something new and energizing………

Does this mean that I have come along some, on the path of Tazkiyah? or does it mean that I missed part of what he said last time due to inattention? or my brain and my heart just did not register it as they were not ready to accept this new concept of living?…………..or a possibility that may be true but difficult for me to admit is that my Nafs and my arrogance stood like a wall when some of the things were said?

When I had first started on this path I wondered why I was here at the retreat. What would I learn from a bunch of lectures, early mornings, late nights and patience and prayer that I could not do by myself?

As the time at the retreat unfolded, after the initial discomfort of my body, my heart and mind started to transcend the physical discomfort and dive into the Shaykh’s method of teaching, which he describes as:
“We learn to do” and “We do to learn”
It is only when you have sat for what seems like a very long time between Asar and Maghrib repeating the evening Dhikr that you realize, there is a hyperactive child within you that wants to get up and go………..the hyperactive inattentive child or is it the headstrong brat of my Nafs that want to get it done and be over with it and go out.

It is only when the Nafs is patted down on the head repeatedly, quietened with a consistent discipline and not given attention that it finally calms down. It is then that the first opening occurs in the true connection with Allah Subhanawataala…………..it may last a few seconds, minutes or even longer if you have better control of your Nafs.

Thus it was the “doing” that I practiced and have continued to practice with the morning evening Dhikr after fajr and as often as I could after Asar that finally brought me to a point in this retreat when I actually began to enjoy the Dhikr with the slow passage of light from Asar to Maghrib in the skylights of the musallah.

As the words of Dhikr left my lips and ascended to my Creator, It brought me an intense feeling of being loved and enfolded in a sensation which can be translated into happiness or security…………even though fleetingly.

“Doing, teaches us more than listening to teachings,” said the Shaykh and I am living proof of that. Three retreats ago, I could not fold my feet to sit in Tashahud to do my Dhikr; I changed posture uncountable times in an hour. Overcoming the Nafs in me that pestered me like a hyperactive brat, by “doing” finally got me past the brat.

The morning Dhikr which is my favorite. I guess because it is long and it takes me a little while to get warmed up. This Dhikr comprises of a series of stunningly comprehensive masnoon supplications that engulf the physical, emotional, and personal needs at every level that one can think of. No wonder Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him, did this Dhikr on a regular basis………….

It also is a protective shield from all evil things and obsessive ill thoughts. When I read the translation of the supplications I can recognize why. Hidden in the simple though potent words, are supplications that protect you, bring blessings on you, shower you with spiritual, emotional and physical health and protect you from the arch enemy of our father, Adam (AS) and his progeny.

“Dua or supplication is emphasized as an essential part of being on the Path of the Seeker”

“Thus the Dhikr is………….to beg Allah, to be prayerful in heart, mind, soul and tongue”

“The lack of dua is a sign of “kibr” or arrogance……….says Allah Subhanawataala in the Quran, and recommends the abd (slave) to often be in dua.“

“Prophet Muhammad pbuh had long stretches of quietness…….as he was constantly in Dhikr”

The tongue can either be in idle chatter or in Dhikr…….thus we as Muslims are taught to be reflective of what we say and to say only what is meaningful, true, sincere and beautiful (with ehsaan). Even better is to remain silent and be in Dhikr.

This permission to remain silent has been one of the most stress releasing aspects that I was introduced to at the retreat. I have always been “the mediator” all my life and have taken it upon my self to entertain the wall flower, to be the liaison between two strangers etc etc……….I was happy to learn, though it took quite some time (three retreats☺) before I could actually be happy and not feel guilty, not to talk and be in silent dhikr.

Our voice is an instrument…………we can use it in so many ways……….Allah Subhanawataala  instructs us in the Quran….”shield your voice” or “lower your voice”.
Luqman (AS) advice to his son in the Quran is:
“And be moderate in thy pace, and lower thy voice; for the harshest of sounds without doubt is the braying of the ass.” 031.019 Yusufali’s translation:

The final words of the Shaykh regarding this aspect were “Guard the tongue, it was put behind two prisons (the lips and the teeth) for a reason” It can lash out and say things that cannot be recalled, or say things to fill the sound void and then we become responsible on the Day of Judgment for each word uttered.

Silent Dhikr………………it took me three retreats of “doing” to know what it means and what happens when you actually “do” it!

Excerpts and reflections from the Retreat on Tazkiyah Nafs 09 with Shaykh Mokhtaar Magroubi (Most of the the statements in inverted comma’s are quotes from the Shaykh)

The Adhkaars (Dhikr) after Salah can be found at :http://ibnayyub.wordpress.com/2007/12/29/adhkaar-after-salah-sheikh-haitham-al-haddad/

ARRIVING AT THE RETREAT FOR TAZKIYAH NAFS………….

I am at the airport and they are here to pick me up along with the other retreaters. This time, I am not stressed, I know that whatever arrangements Allah SWT has planned for me to get there will happen.
As the car ascends the mountains, in a caravan, packed with the retreaters I feel the tension ebb away from me…………I literally feel that I am going to be deposited at the beginner’s point of the hike to The Path of the Seekers of Allah.

How presumptuous of me……….nevertheless my heart lifts as I go deeper and deeper into the mountains and only the blocking of my ears tells me that I have also made a literal ascent of the body and not only of the heart and soul.

Why do I feel elated?  Is it because this is the third time and I know what to expect or is it because I have dropped all presuppositions and allowed myself to float like a leaf in the river of faith, allowing it to take me wherever the Divine hand guides it.

I no longer try to steer my path, nor try and change behavior of my companions, I make a mental note that it is myself that I will need to adjust. Why am I here for the third time, I know the answer to that……I am a slow learner.

This time I have no need to talk, to get to know others, nor do I feel responsible to keep a conversation going. I enjoy the permission that I have been given, to remain silent.

When I reach our room in the lodge, I do one thing different that I have learned from my travel companion V. I unpack daily essentials and organize them in the appropriate places. I make sure that I have the right things available for the right activities without having to search for them, and I head to the basement or the musallah.

As I step on the last stair that always creaks the loudest when there is a latecomer for salaah, I feel I am home. The room smells musty like a home that has missed its dwellers. The crisply clean green carpet welcomes me; I am told at another time that the Christian camp owners especially fixed this carpet and this room for the Muslim retreaters.

I think of King Nagashi. Did he not help the Muslims in time of dire need and then did his heart not turn towards the ultimate submission to the one God………..I wonder at the red haired man who runs the camp, he sits in one of the salaahs with his feet folded like a Muslim who has spent his life on the musallah and I wonder about his heart…………… And so begins the introduction of the retreat which holds the map to the hiking trail for the Seeker of the Almighty………..