Dhikr of La Illaha Illa Allah

Taken from Imam Al-Haddad's Gifts For the Seeker:

La ilaha illaAllah

You should know that this phrase is the most comprehensive and profitable of all invocations; the nearest to bringing about the Opening and illumining the heart with the light of God. It is also the most suitable of invocations for all people, since it includes the meanings of all other invocations, such as al-hamdu li'Llah, subhan Allah, and so on. Each believer should therefore, make it his inseparable wird, his constant dhikr, without, however, abandoning the other invocations, of each of which he should have a wird.

Every human being is either a traveller, an arriver, or a non-traveller, and all three should hold unceasingly to this invocation. Travellers and non-travellers, since they perceive objects and attribute to them an existence of their own- something which may lead to subtle forms of hidden shirk- can only expel these from their souls by constantly repeating this phrase. As for the man who has arrived, this invocation is again the most appropriate for him, because although he perceives things by God, and unceasingly summons them to Him, he is not entirely free from perceiving his own self from time to time, and from reprehensible thoughts unworthy of his rank. It has been handed down to us that Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may God be pleased with him, used to insert this phrase into his conversation: he would utter a few words, say la ilaha illa'Llah, and then resume what he was saying. This pertains to the Station of Subsistence (baqa) which follows that of Extinction (fana). As we said earlier, there is no invocation more appropriate for a man constantly to use than this; however, when the traveller reaches the initial stages of extinction, and is liberated from perceiving any of the worlds (as autonomous), then the most appropriate thing for him at that time is to keep to the Name of Allah. This is what the people of gnosis have advised.

All the above is from the point of view of choosing the best and the most appropriate alternative, for otherwise all the invocations are the paths leading to God. The shaykhs, may God be pleased with them, have many methods of uttering this honorable Phrase, whether aloud or silently, and have set conditions which the invoker who would expose himself to the Dive effulgence and the Lordly Opening needs to fulfil. These are explained in those of their treatises which deal with them specifically, where they can be found by whoever wishes to thread the path of such men. It is best that those who are able to find in their time a shaykh of authority should receive these from him directly, since books are a last resort for those who are unable to find (such a teacher); and what a difference there is between a man who receives the Path from a gnostic of authority who will take him to God, and one who only picks it up from a book!

God guides to what is right. To Him is the return, and success is from Him and in His Hand.

Knowledge is the Essence of Guidance

Taken from 'The Heirs of the Prophets' by ibn Rajab al-Hanbali:

The reason the path to Paradise is made easy for the student of sacred knowledge, if he desires Allah and His pleasure, is explained as follows. Knowledge directs one to Allah from the most accessible paths. Therefore, one who travels its path, without deviating from it, reaches Allah and Paradise by means of the most direct route. The routes leading to Paradise has all been smoothed for him in this world and the next.

As for one who travels a path without knowledge, thinking it is a path to Paradise, he has chosen the most difficult and severe path. Such a person will never reach his destination despite tremendous exertion.

There is no path to experiential knowledge of Allah-leading to His pleasure and His nearness in the Hereafter-except through the beneficial knowledge which Allah sent down to His messengers revealed in His scriptures. This [knowledge] guides to the right path. With it, clear guidance is sought out from the darkness of ignorance, ambiguity, and doubt. Allah has referred to His Book as a light with which one is guided through darkness:

There has come to you from Allah a light and clear book. With it, Allah guides those who pursue His pleasure to paths of peace and He brings them out of darkness into light (Quran, 5:15-16).

The Prophet put forth a parable between the possessors of knowledge and the stars that guide people through darkness. Imam Ahmad relates (from Anas) that the Prophet said,"The similitude of the religious scholars on earth is that of the stars in the sky, by which [people] are guided through the darkness of the land and sea. If the stars are extinguished, even guides might stray."

This metaphor is penetrating, for the path to understanding Allah's oneness, experiential knowledge of Allah, His divine rulings, and His rewards and punishments are not attained through empirical knowledge. Rather, they are known through divine revelation. He is has made this clear in His Book and on the tongue of the Messenger. The scholars are the guides through he darkness of ignorance, ambiguity, and deviation. When these guides are lost, the travelers go astray.

The religious religious scholars have been likened to the stars, which provide three benefits: they guide [people] through the darkness; they adorn the sky; and they are missiles that repel the satans who ascend the heavens [endeavoring to intercept Allah's commands to angels]...

Avoid Being Someone Whose Tongue is Feared

Taken from The Mysteries of Bearing Witness, by Ibn Al-Arabi:

Beware, my brother, of being someone evil so that people fear your tongue. Among the worst people are those who are honored out of fear of their tongues. You know yourself best in that respect. A man came to the Messenger of God, (may blessings and peace be upon him) and when the Messenger of God (may blessings and peace be upon him) saw him approaching, he said of him before he reached him, "A bad son of a tribe." When he reached him, he was cheerful with him and laughed with him. When he left, 'Aisha said to him, "Messenger of God, you said what you said about him and then you were cheerful with him." He replied, "'Aisha, one of the worst people is the one whom people honor out of fear of his evil." So beware lest you be one of those who are like this and thereby be one of the worst people by the testimony of the Messenger of God (may blessings and peace be upon him). If you have a wife and you tell her a mystery and there is a mystery shared between you and her, then beware of divulging her mystery. That is one of the major wrong actions in the sight of God. It is confirmed by the Messenger of God (may blessings and peace be upon him) that one of the worst people in the sight of God on the Day of Resurrection will be one who entrusts a mystery to his wife and she to him and then he divulges her mystery. That is a major wrong action.

Beware of cursing the father or mother of anyone so that he curses your father and mother in turn. That is part of filial disobedience. The same applies when you sit with an idolater; do not curse the one he takes as his god alongside God. When you sit with the Rafidites (the Dissenters; a group of Shi'a known for rejecting Abu Bakr and 'Umar as well as 'Uthman) whom you know will attack the Companions, do not mention or allude to any of the Companion whom you know that they will attack when they are praised. His obstinacy will make him attack them and then you will have exposed them to being attacked by mentioning them. God says, "Do not curse those they call upon besides God in case that makes them curse God in animosity, without knowledge" (6:108). The Messenger of God (may blessings and peace be upon him) forbade that a man curse his parents. He was asked, "Messenger of God, how can a man curse his parents?" The Prophet (may blessings and peace be upon him) said, "He may curse another man's father who in turn curses his father, and curse his mother and he in turn curses his mother." It is a wrong action for a man to impugn the honor of a Muslim man unjustly. This is confirmed by the Messenger of God (may blessings and peace be upon him).

You must attend the night and morning obligatory prayers in congregation. When someone attends night obligatory prayer in congregation, it is as if he had prayed half the night. When someone attends the morning obligatory prayer in congregation, it is as if he had prayed the entire night. You must be kind to the servants of God in general, indeed to every animal. There is a reward with God Almighty for every creature with a moist liver.

Making Silence Obligatory

Take recourse to self-imposed silence (mulāzimat al-şamt). Keeping quiet will kindle the light of joy in your heart and immerse you in happy tranquility, just as Abu Madyan points out.

Make silence obligatory
Unless you are questioned, then say:
'No knowledge have I'
And conceal yourself with ignorance.

Sufis who take to the spiritual way consider that there are great benefits to be gained by those who make silence obligatory upon themselves. Doing so raises their foundations high and plants firmly their roots. Silence is of two types. There is silence of the tongue (şamt bi'l-lisān) and then there is silence of the heart (şamt bi'l-janān). Both of there are necessary on the path. Whoever is silent in the heart yet speaks with the tongue speaks with wisdom. Whoever is silent with the tongue and silent in the heart perceives the manifestation (tajallī) of the inner conscience (sirr) and is addressed by the Lord.

This is the ultimate goal of silence, as made comprehensible through the discourse of the Shaykh [Abu Madyan]. So make silence obligatory upon yourself, my dear seeker, unless you are questioned. If you are questioned, return to your roots and reach your goal and answer simply, 'No knowledge have I.' Conceal yourself with ignorance, so that you might be enlightened by the rays of intimate knowledge that comes directly from the divine source ('ilm ladunī). Whenever you acknowledge your ignorance and return to your roots [weakness and incapacity], the glimmers of intimate knowledge of your true self dawn to your sight. And if you know your true self you know your Lord, as it is recorded in a saying of the Prophet [hadīth]: "He who knows himself knows his Lord" (man 'arifa nafsahu 'arifa rabba-hu).

All of this knowledge is the fruit of silence and observing its proper bounds with respect. So keep silent, bear yourself respectfully and stand humbly at the doorway so that you might be recognized as a beloved friend of the master of the house. How beautifully this has been said by a poet:

I won't leave the doorway
till they set right my deficiency
Lest they greet me while I'm bent
with my shameful incapacity

If you are satisfied with me
imagine my honor and my nobility!
Yet if you reject me, is there any hope
for my impertinent rigidity?

- Ibn 'Ata' Allah al-Iskandari, Sign of Success on the Spiritual Path (Unwan al Tawfiq fi Adab al Tariq)

bismillah.

My intention in creating this blog is to collect articles, excerpts, and other pearls of wisdom that Allah (swt) has blessed me with the taufeeq to read and reflect upon.

May Allah (swt) keep our intentions pure as we seek knowledge for His sake. May He make us of those that act upon what they have learned. May He make our tongues full of His remembrance and taqwa. May He bring us out of the darkness of illusions and honour us with the light of comprehension, Ya Allah, open the doors of Your mercy for us and englighten us with the treasure of Your knowledge.

Ameen.