One great scholar in a classical piece of writing addresses his nafs (soul) and says ‘Oh Soul! Admit! Isn’t it true that when I recite the Qur’an you feel fatigue, tiredness and you remind me of the need for the body to rest. You feel the desire to go away and lie down. You remind me of the obligation of having mercy on my body. You make me feel tired and worn out. Oh nafs! Isn’t it true that you make me yawn. All of this when I’m reciting the words of Allah. However, nafs isn’t it true at the same time that when I do take pity on my body and on myself and I close the Qur’an or I stop reciting and I retire to rest, oh nafs isn’t it true that the moment I think of a couplet of poetry or I think of some other form of speech all of a sudden oh nafs you and I both find energy, renewed vigour, excitement and isn’t it true oh nafs that you make me (the body) sway in joy and in excitement.

This poem is an example which helps us understand the following ayah (verse):

وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ اشْمَأَزَّتْ قُلُوبُ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ الَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِ إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ

When Allah alone is mentioned the hearts of those who do not believe in the hereafter shrink and shrivel in distaste and when others beside Allah are mentioned all of a sudden they rejoice in glee and happiness.

[Surah al Zumar, 39:45]

[This excerpt is based on a dars (lesson) on Ramadhan delivered by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 30th July 2010].

Why do we still fall victim to desire and continue to sin during Ramadhan?

We know that the shayateen (devils) are locked up in Ramadhan so why do we still persist in sin during this blessed month? This is not due to the shayateen misleading us but rather our own nafs. Committing certain sins has almost become second nature for us hence we feel no remorse or guilt and do not repent following the sin. To deal with this, we need a higher level of consciousness where we constantly review and revise our actions and meditate upon what we need to do to become a better person.

Every sin has a momentum and thus makes it easier to commit the next sin. Just as Allah سبحانه وتعالى propels a person on to the path of good and virtue, He also propels a person on to the path of sin. Thus, not only can good deeds become second nature but also sin. Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in the Holy Qur’an:

فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْعُسْرَى

We shall ease him into difficulty.

[Surah al Lail 92:10]

One way of changing our behaviour is by keeping good company. In good company, a person will become aware of his or her character and behaviour whereas in bad company a person will not be able to detect anything wrong with his or her character.

[This excerpt is based on a dars (lesson) on Ramadhan delivered by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 6th August 2010].

Anas bin Malik رضى الله عنه relates that Ramadhan arrived so the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, ‘Indeed this month has come upon you, and therein is a night which is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of it is deprived of all good, and none is deprived of it except one who is truly deprived’ [Reported by ibn  Majah],

He who wastes his time in Ramadhan is truly deprived of the virtues and forgiveness of this month. The sahabah رضى الله عنهم ensured that not a moment passed in futility. They would complete their worldly tasks and free themselves two months prior to Ramadhan i.e. by Rajab.

Allah’s acceptance of a fast is not just conditional upon remaining hungry or thirsty but is also dependent upon the fasting of the other bodily organs i.e. the eyes, ears, heart, mind and especially the tongue.

Abu Hurayrah رضى الله عنه reports that Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم  said ‘Fasting is not merely abstaining from eating and drinking. Rather, fasting is to refrain from futility and indecency. So if someone abuses you or behaves ignorantly towards you, then say: “I am fasting” ’. [Reported by ibn Khuzaymah].

When fasting we should not even shout or raise our voices let alone argue. This is the month in which we should all remain silent as much as possible and not say or do anything which inconveniences others.

[This excerpt is based on a brothers’ majlis (gathering for spiritual training) held by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 30th November 1999].

There is a famous poem in Arabic where the poet says that you claim to love Allah and you express Allah’s love but at the same time you disobey him. By Allah, this is a very strange thing indeed! If your love for Allah was true, you would obey him because one who claims love for another, always follows him, obeys him and that is amongst people. You express your love for Allah, the Creator, and yet at the same time you quite blatantly disobey Him and also claim that you love Him.

Thus, the love of Allah عز وجل and His Rasool  صلى الله عليه وسلم is not as simple as saying ‘I love Allah, I love His messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم’ rather the proof of that love is in our actions. Whenever we are tested by Allah, are we inclined towards the akhirah (hereafter) or towards the dunya (worldly life)? When the test comes, are we inclined towards Allah and His messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم and their ways or the dunya?

[This short excerpt is based on a lecture delivered by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 21st February 1999, Perfection of Iman. For a more comprehensive understanding of this topic please refer to that lecture].

Man naturally deteriorates in spirituality over time. This is because no effort is required for this to happen. When a person is not doing any good, he falls into this state of decline. It is not that a person sins then a person becomes bad and only then declines in spirituality. Rather, if a person does not do anything, neither good nor bad, then a person’s spirituality will still deteriorate and will naturally fall and become more and more distant from Allah سبحانه وتعالى.  Sinning only increases the rate of deterioration.

In Surah al Asr, Allah سبحانه وتعالى swears upon time:

وَالْعَصْرِ

إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ

By time
Indeed man is in a great and constant state of loss
[Surah al Asr 103:1-2]

The translation for this ayah is not just that man is in a great state of loss but that man is in a great and perpetual, recurring state of loss. This means man is in a state of loss for every moment of his existence. This is not just a simple loss but a great loss indeed because for every moment of his existence from the time of birth to the time of death man deteriorates.

إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ

Except those who practice good deeds and who counsel one another to the truth and patience.

[Surah al Asr 103:3]

The only way to arrest this natural decline is by practicing and preaching good deeds which in turn strengthen imaan (faith). This ensures a rise in spirituality and checks the decline.

Always remember that spirituality can easily be lost – climbing is difficult but falling is easy. Consolidate what you have i.e. fardh and sunnah acts of ibadah and take things slowly with patience and perseverance.

[This excerpt is based on a brothers’ majlis (gathering for spiritual training) held by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 2nd July 1997 as well as a lecture entitled ‘Gift of Time’ delivered by the Shaykh. For a more comprehensive understanding of this topic please refer to that lecture].

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in a verse of Surah Furqan:

أَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ أَفَأَنتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ وَكِيلًا

Have you not seen he who has made his nafs god? [N.B. Partial translation]

[Surah al Furqan 25:43]

In a hadeeth Sayyidina Shaddad ibn Aws رضى الله عنه narrated that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ الْكَيِّسُ مَنْ دَانَ نَفْسَهُ وَعَمِلَ لِمَا بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ

وَالْعَاجِزُ مَنْ أَتْبَعَ نَفْسَهُ هَوَاهَا وَتَمَنَّى عَلَى اللَّهِ

The intelligent one is he who suppresses his desires (nafs) and who works for the hereafter, and the helpless one is he who follows his desires and hopes for the mercy of Allah.

[Reported by Tirmidhi, ibn Majah and Ahmed]

The reason why Banu Israeel rejected the ambiya عليهم السلام is because they worshipped their whims and desires (nafs). Following ones nafs leads one to reject the truth and therefore one must work hard to overcome the nafs.

We live in a time when people have formed their own ideas of piety and deen, good and bad according to their own desires . Everyone wants deen to be that what their nafs want it to be and not what Allah سبحانه وتعالى wants it to be. Thus, everyone has their own idea of religion (designer spirituality); every person has his or her own Islam according to their nafs. Any part of deen which does not agree with their own nafs is immediately rejected and eventually, such a person ends up worshipping their own nafs rather than Allah سبحانه وتعالى.

We must make our inner self and nature conform to deen rather than the other way around. Shaitaan has fooled us into having our idea of piety and spirituality. We must sacrifice our own desire and follow the laws of Allah سبحانه وتعالى. This is true sacrifice.

Any action should only be for the pleasure of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and not in order to satisfy our desires or for name and fame.

[This excerpt is based on a brothers’ majlis (gathering for spiritual training) held by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 9th April 1997 and 7th May 1997].

It is easy to achieve a rapport with Allah سبحانه وتعالى. but it is difficult to maintain especially for a person who has pride in his heart. One of the consequences of pride is that it leads to friction with others. A proud person will expect respect, love, attention and affection from others but when he does not receive them (despite thinking he deserves them) it will inevitably lead to friction and conflict.

Never expect respect, love, affection or anything else which boosts your ego and leads to pride. You should not even expect respect from your wife or husband and immediate family members. If you can be like this then even if you do not get what you want you will not feel indignant. If someone offends you, you will not be offended.

Learn to be truly humble; in front of your parents, teachers, Shaykh and fellow Muslims. This humbleness and piety should be natural and consistent; not that you are pious in front of one person and haughty in front of another.

Pride in one’s heart is akin to weeds in a rose garden. Roses will not bloom, flourish or last very long in a garden of weeds. If your heart is full of pride, you will not bloom spiritually because of these weeds of pride.

[This excerpt is based on a brothers’ majlis (gathering for spiritual training) held by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 19th and also on 26th March 1997].

The sahabah رضى الله عنهم were blessed with beautiful characters and manners and they reached the rank of ihsaan due to the blessing of being in the presence of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. They benefitted from the suhba (company) of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. We, today, have to work towards this aim, i.e. attaining the rank of ihsaan, through tazkiyyah. This is not something trivial and it cannot be achieved overnight. We have to strive and work towards this goal with balance and moderation.

In a hadeeth related by Imam al-Bazzar the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says ‘This religion is firm and strong therefore embrace it and enter into it with ease and simplicity and softly. And do not make resentful to yourselves and detestable the worship of Allah because the hasty traveller neither traverses the distance nor spares his mount’.

Hold onto the rope of Allah; do not hold on to the rope too laxly so that it drops, nor hold on to it so tightly that it breaks. Rather, hold onto it in moderation so that it remains taut.

Instead of aspiring to the heights of performing extensive nafil ibadah and failing it is better to remain firm on the five fardh salah and avoid sin. This in itself will take you leaps and bounds in deen.

[This excerpt is based on a brothers’ majlis (gathering for spiritual training) held by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 12th March 1997].

The spirit is divine in origin. Thus, its nourishment and means of keeping it healthy are also divine; that nourishment is the Qur’an and dhikr of Allah. As Muslims we should pay more attention to the spirit than the body. Materialism is about denying spirituality; anything beyond the tangible is denied. Even if this denial is not by tongue then it can be by lifestyle. Someone that has imaan and yaqeen (conviction) relies on Allah and Allah will make him successful in protecting the spirit.

In Surah al Shams Allah says:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا

He who purifies the soul, he is successful.

[Surah al Shams 91:9]

Every act of worship reflects on the spirit. We Muslims today act on some of the laws of religion e.g. we  pray salah and give zakah but we do not care in the slightest about spirituality even though it is the very essence of our existence. We are so concerned about nourishment of the body (food, drink, clothing and shelter) but what about nourishment of the soul and its protection? We care about medicine for the body and are fearful of illnesses and sickness. What about sicknesses and illnesses of the heart? Just as sicknesses of the body can destroy a person and end a person’s life, the sicknesses of the soul can leave a person living as a corpse but from within the person has died a spiritual death. The spiritual diseases are more detrimental and lethal than physical diseases.

One cancer cell can replicate and spread throughout the body consuming the entire body from within, followed by the striking of a terminal illness. The diseases of the heart are far worse. What do we do about sickness of the spirit and diseases of the heart? We profess belief in spirituality but in reality we do not rely on these immaterial spiritual things that we cannot see, hear or feel. Instead we ignore them. The spiritual diseases such as malice, envy, jealousy, hatred, arrogance, pride, haughtiness and suspicion can destroy a person completely. Just as cancer can leave a person alive whilst the disease eats away from within, similarly the spiritual diseases may already have destroyed a person from within. His body maybe healthy but he has already died from within. He may have killed off his soul already. Even within religion it is sad to see that some Muslims deny spirituality; they may not say it but they do not busy themselves in spiritual exercises or in eradicating diseases of the heart. They do not busy themselves in adorning their hearts with lofty spiritual characteristics.

[This short excerpt is based on the talk ‘Spirituality in a Material World’ delivered by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 30th June 2005. For a more comprehensive understanding of this topic please refer to that lecture].

It is impossible to attain the rank of being loved by Allah سبحانه وتعالى without adhering to the shariah and following the sunnah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

[This quote is taken from a brothers’ majlis (spiritual gathering) held by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on 27th July 2005].