[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23.1″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”justified” sticky_enabled=”0″] There is so much work to be done and there is so little time. When Nabi Muhammad (ﷺ) delivered his final address on Jabal Rahmah or Arafat, he asked at the end whether he had delivered the message. The response from the thousands of Companions (r.a.) was a resounding “yes”. Of course, this and also other indicators showed that his life on this planet, as we say, was going to come to an end. Allah Almighty had granted him a period of life to perform certain tasks as part of the religious re-orientation of humanity. Today, one wonders what went through his mind, because he must have known that his end was near. Because of his position as the Final Messenger, and as the most beloved by

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”justified” sticky_enabled=”0″] In whatever one tries to do, especially when it comes to deeply religious matters, then it is sometimes very difficult to keep one’s eye on the goal and to keep one’s feet on the path. On deeply religious matters, I am referring to those religious activities which one uses in order to obtain certain darajat from one’s Lord. You might say that participation in all religious activities are supposed to have such goals, but this is not true. Many people sometimes have both Dunya and Akhirah goals in their religious activities. You may say that this is very strange but it is just like that. To some people a prayer might be for some goal but also to satisfy conditions of employment. And so, although it is

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23.1″ text_font_size=”16px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”justified” global_colors_info=”{}”] We have been operating in this country for more than a decade [2012]. What has our organization been trying to do? We have been trying to take Islam to the very poorest people and to spread the remembrance of Allah Almighty. You might think that this task would have the normal difficulties. It is not so. In many of the areas that we go into, we are unable to reach the poor people because of the extent that certain religious structures are closed to us, and then we are unable to spread the remembrance of Allah Almighty. Many parts of this country, we are unable to enter because of the Wahabi-Salafi influence and so the religious tradition of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah, brought here by our forefathers, has

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”justified” sticky_enabled=”0″] The other day [2012] Mawlana Shaykh Nazim mentioned something which I have spoken about so many times. He said that religion is not a toy, that it is not a game. Sometimes Allah Almighty causes us to become embarrassed when we think back to periods or events in the past during which we considered Islam as a game. The continuous dissension in our community on a variety of issues, from the time our forefathers put their feet on the soil of this country, is a classic example of how they and we have been treating Islam as a toy. I have come across, on so many occasions, of people boasting or bragging about how they were able to trip other people on aspects of our religion. At

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”justified” sticky_enabled=”0″] I suppose that because of our long life on the Dunya, we have been very fortunate to have accumulated in our memories a large number of experiences, which either we have gone through or others have gone through. Through these experiences, we have been able to draw certain principles that one can use in one’s life. These principles were not derived from book knowledge but from people’s interactions with each other and with the environments in which they live. What it all means is that these principles are derived from the reality of life. There are no assumptions or guesses, because reality tells us what an experience is actually about. In our short period of time in Tariqah, Allah Almighty has made us experience what we might

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”justified” sticky_enabled=”0″] Many of the senior people in the organization are spending the final period of their lives on this planet. We are sure, that there is in each one a deep gratitude to their Lord for having been given the privilege of life as a special creation, and the honour of being part of the nation of Nabi Muhammad (ﷺ). All of these have, of course, been such a massive privilege that one finds few words to express one’s appreciation. To have been given life by Allah Almighty is such a special privilege. To be part of the nation of the greatest of nations of the greatest of Messengers (a.s.), is such a enormous privilege. And to have had the privilege for spiritual development under the guidance of

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”justified” sticky_enabled=”0″] Most of us grew up in Islam and so there was never any moment at which we had to make a firm declaration with regards to our Islamic beliefs and practices. We just moved into these beliefs and practices as part of the normal routine of things in our lives as Muslims. We never questioned any of these matters, and if we did such questioning it was mainly to justify religious negligence. Sometimes the negligence dominated our lives and we had to make a conscious effort to get back, especially to the practices of Islam. Of course, there are many cases of individuals who never returned to these practices or who totally left Islam; either to another religion or to disbelief. In a sense, each individual eventually

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”justified” sticky_enabled=”0″] One is not always fully aware, as the representative of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, of the impact that matters of the murids and others are having on one. I had thought that being a “representative” just had to do with performing certain duties with regard to the murids; according to the wishes of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim. The understanding that I had, totally changed one day when my grandson took a photograph of me while I was sitting in my study. When the photograph was examined, there was an unknown man beside me, and it was as if he was swirling. Initial attempts to delete the photograph failed. I submitted the photograph to Shaykh Hisham in America, and he informed me that the “man” represented the burden of the

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ text_font_size=”16px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”] To walk a spiritual path in Islam is extremely difficult, because one generally operates in a sea of antagonism, ignorance and criticism. Over the centuries the teachings of Islam on spiritual development have been suppressed and in some countries, these teachings are considered to take one outside the pale of Islam. What is it that they do that is so different? They propagate intensive ibadat. They have examined the Qur’an and all the holy traditions and all forms of ibadat that are mentioned there, they strive to do. And so they do all the Nafl salahs, all additional Sunnah salahs that are attached to the Fard salahs, and engage in intensive individual and congregational adhkar. They try to do all the different forms of Sunnah fasting that are found in

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ text_font_size=”16px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”justified” global_colors_info=”{}”] One of the most difficult things for all of us is, not only to work in the Cause of Allah Almighty, but also to do so with a 100% of our hearts. So, because of all the attractions of this world and the role of our egos, we tend to vacillate between being for Allah Almighty and being for this world and one’s ego. Being for this world, gives one material possessions, which many of us enjoy and boast about. And so, we are considered successful in this world if we have all these trappings. Very few people are prepared to choose Allah Almighty above this world and to be for Him only. This is extremely rare. True workers in the Cause of Allah Almighty are found few and