The Effects and Need of Dhikr I

These are notes from Sheikh Abdul Mun’im Burkhes halaqa taken by my friend. The Shaikh explained Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya's (rahimahullah) book al-Wabil as-Sayyib min Kalim at-Tayyib (Abundant Showers from the Good Word). This session was on the chapter: 'The 'Effects (and need) of Dhikr'.

One who cares, will stay away from prohibitions and their places.

One who glorifies Allah will hate/get angry for Allah SWT and feel sad about this.

One of the signs that one is giving due respect is for him not to go on with practicing actions which are allowed to the point of going overboard.

An example is this is the Sunnah about waiting for Salatul Dhuhr-waiting for a cooler time. He said, for one to take the allowance and stretch it to the extreme, would be consider very wrong. The time of Asr may be about to come and this is going overboard.

The wisdom behind allowing Dhuhr to pass to a cooler time is because the heat would be discomforting so the legislation allowed delay to later, when the heat of the sun, would cool off. This would achieve the objective of the Salat and being in a state of greater Khushoo.

One example is that the one who is attentive shouldn’t pray when the food is readily available/wants to relieve himself. This is to be avoided because the person would be bothered in the Salat and so the objective of the Salat wouldn’t be achieved. And so, part of the Fiqh showing someone has understanding in the religion is to get rid off whatever is busying his mind. His Salat would thus be ready to focus on the Salat-thus making his heart empty from any other business and turned to Allah SWT. All of the body parts are in attention and two Rakat of this quality Salat could lead to all the sins of the servant to be washed away.

The traveler to combine between the Salat because of the difficulty a person would face on travelers. There is thus an allowance for the person to combine the prayer. If one stays in the same place is in the same way-it is not a regular way-combining the Salat is a temporary allowance. As for Al-Qasr (shortening), this is a regular Sunnah-and there is no excuse in this matter. For the other case, it is an allowance. If one travels, always shorten the Salat but combining them, do it if needed otherwise pray on time.

Another example, filling the stomach with food is an allowance. One shouldn’t go to an extreme such that they would reach to a point of extreme fullness-the stomach would thus take all his attention before and after the food. Rather, the servant should be hungry and full sometimes. While a person still desires it, he should leave some of it and the scale to do it is the Hadith: 1/3 for food, 1/3 for drink and 1/3 for air.

As for one treating the prohibitions with the extreme of taking it too easy, will take one out of the straight path. Exaggerations and hardness is the other side. The one who has waswasa with wudhu-one goes into the extreme and misses the Salah-he might then miss the Rakah, etc. One example is when a man said full proclaimed Niyyah in the Haram. A Bedouin next to him said ‘say the time and place’ when the person was about to start.. Thus, one should say the Niyyah in his mind as mistakes may happen-one may become too extreme. Thus one could leave something that is disliked up to even being liked.

The scholar brings the point of eating only what is Halal-thus he wouldn’t eat the food of the general persons even. Thus some of the worshippers prevent themselves from eating anything in the Muslim land and this person is bringing the food only that is brought from Christian lands-he spends someone specially to bring some type of food thus the person has cause the person to fall into evil thoughts on Muslims and good thought of others.

Then to give due regard to the orders and prohibitions is for one to not oppose them by extreme laxity or extreme hard application. Allah SWT wouldn’t order anything unless that the Shaytan has two ways of misguiding. The Shaytan doesn’t care which one of the two he causes the person to fall into. Rather, the Shaytan goes into the heart of a Muslim and tries to analyze and evaluate it. If he found if the person finds shortness from applying/relax/taking things slowly/found of allowances, then he will grab him from this way and will slow him down even more-making his lazy and slowing down and cold-hearted (no desire). The door of falsehood may be opened and the person applies what Allah doesn’t order at all.

If one founds someone paying importance and doing good and rising to the challenge, then Shaytan will cause the person to strive excessively and that the will power is higher than this and that the person should do more than others-I.e not cool off, not sleep, not fast, etc. This extreme action would making his transgress the Straight Path. The objective of the Shaytan is to transgress both people and this relates to the Hadith on this. Most of the creation was tried with these two ways and nothing will save one from this than firm Iman, knowledge and desire to stick to moderation and being balanced.

The signs of glorifying Allah and his orders is for one not to explain for the order that would lead someone to be weak in surrendering to Allah SWT. Thus he should try to carry out the wisdom of the order and if the Hikma becomes apparent, then the person will not just leave things completely. Such as with people who are hypocrites who called themselves Sufis-Allah SWT legislated 5 daily prayers and for the heart and the body parts to be used in worshiping Allah SWT. Allah gave every body part the share of servitude- Salat is one of the highest types of worship and Allah created the Son of Adam and made the heart the place for his treasures-of faith, Tawheed, Ikhlas, love, shyness/modesty, glorifying, watching, etc. Allah SWT made the reward for this Son of the Adam when he comes to Him, Allah made the reward the best and highest of Reward-to look and be close to Allah SWT in Paradise.

The heart of the person is the treasure chest and yet, Allah tested the Son of Adam with lusts, desires, anger and heedlessness. Allah SWT tried him with the enemy-Iblees who never stops plotting against him-he enters towards part of his nature and the Son of Adam inclines because he is inclined to these desires.

The Shaytan, the self of the human being and his desires are the three parts that come together upon the servant of Allah and order him. These three thing s will make the body parts achieve and do what they want and thus, the body part are just following instructions. Thus, the affairs of the body parts of the human will continue to obey these three things thus causing the Abd to be in trouble. Allah SWT necessitated that Son of Adam would be helped by soldiers and arms by which the servant would fight. Thus Allah SWT sent down a messenger and His Book and supported him with the Noble Angel. Sometimes, one party may take over and the winner is the one who Allah SWT protects. To face Shaytan, the Angel was sent and the soul is made at peace/tranquility not to do that. If the soul that orders him to do evil, then the peaceful soul would ask him to do good deeds. The person may order one over another and the authority would go to one who beats the other-maybe one of these two souls will be defeated that it will never rise again. In the face of the Shaytan is the Angel and to face evil is goodness and to face desires, is light, insight and intellect that stops one from following the desires. They warn the person of entering to Haram and destruction.

If one goes after the desires, one would be snatched and the person would obey the advisor, seeing the guidance and go after the desires at times. The person may obey good advice or not and the thieves may attack him-the person would wonder at his condition then and the strange thing is that the person truly knows from where he was taken and why. He knows the road which he took where the wrongdoing occurs but the person continues with this because it has taken authority over him. If he weakened this guide by opposing him and shun evil then he will not be able to take over. But in the other case, if the person gives his hand out to an enemy, would captivate and severely hurt him. The human being is captive to desire, self, Shaytan in such a situation and wants to be rescued but it’s impossible. Since the servant was tried and tested, he was helped with tools, forts, etc.

Striving against the enemy is his mission one is to fortify oneself-staying at the borderline, being on guard till death. The time one is required at this state is a very small period of time and it may be soon to se e the Great King and one would be relieved. Thus, the King would let him to be free and the enemy has been jailed. Thus the enemy was ou in the worst imprisonment and so there is no relief while you may do whatever you desire, your eyes are cooled for being patient for a small period of time as if the hardship was never there. If one became weak to notice all this, then let him ponder over S.35-‘As if when they see what they have been promised except one hour of the day’. Allah SWT would ask them about this and they would reply it was very short as if they didn’t stay for one day/part of the day.

How short a person stays is so short and the Prophet SAW gave a speech that when the Sun was above the mountains, during Maghrib, the Prophet SAW said there is nothing left of the dunya except what of the day has passed till now. The fact that the Prophet SAW was sent as a messenger is a sign of the closeness of the Hour so the wise should reflect on this and know what he has achieved that the person is left in confused dreams and desires. One has sold off the happiness of the everlasting realm and endless bliss with a small type of share and if one seeks Allah SWT and the Last Day, Allah SWT will give him that share with more and better. Sell of the worldly life for the next and you would win both of them-don’t do the opposite, is one would lose both.

Oh Son of Adam, you need this share of life but the next life needs a larger share. And so, one would be risking it and the one who starts with the share of the next life, would get both Inshallah. Caliph Umar ibn Aziz ordered for one to have steadfastness and thus, one should give precedence to Allah over anything else and that one should not treat them of going into extreme of laxity/hardness. Ignoring Allah’s prohibitions would make one straight and steadfast.

Allah ordered Yahya ibn Zakariyah AS to act upon and the Children of Israel would act on them: the last order is to do Dhikr.